Ombudsman releases council complaints data for the East Midlands for 2024-25

Complaints about Education and Children’s services are still dominating the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s casework in the East Midlands according to its annual review of local government complaints.

The review shows a continued increase in the Ombudsman’s caseload nationally, with a record number of complaints received, exceeding 20,000 for the first time.

In-depth data analysis for the East Midlands showed:

• 7% of complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman were from this region.
• The 1,437 complaints received equated to 28.8 complaints per 100,000 residents, the third lowest of all the regions and well below the average across all regions of 35.0.
• 35% of complaints and enquiries received were about Children and Education, above the average for all regions of 28%. This was equivalent to 10.2 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents in this category, which was higher than the average of 9.8 for all regions, and ranked fourth after the Eastern region (12.1), the South East (12.0) and South West (10.9).
• 15% of complaints and enquiries received were about Adult Care Services. This was above the average for all regions of 14%. The 4.2 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents remained below the average of 4.8 for all regions, second lowest after the Eastern region (3.5).
• 11% of complaints and enquiries received were about Housing, below the overall average of 18% for all regions. The 3.2 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents in this category stood well below the average of 6.3 for all the regions, ranking fifth behind London (21.2), West Midlands (6.1), Eastern (4.2) and the South East (4.0).
• The overall uphold rate for the region stood at 81%, just below the average of 83% for all regions.
• A total of 237 upheld decisions equated to 4.7 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents, well below the average of 6.1 for all regions.

Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Sitting at the apex of the complaint system for English local authorities, the complaints we receive – and the faults we find – can act as a bellwether for the state of local services across the country. 

“We are receiving a higher number of complaints year-on-year and upholding those complaints in greater numbers. This reflects how systemic some of the issues across local government are.

“I appreciate national pressures in the key areas of Special Educational Needs, availability of housing and adult care are putting enormous strain on local authorities, but we still hold them accountable to the law and guidance and the high standards people expect from their local services. We are finding more fault, but I welcome their overwhelming compliance with the recommendations we make.”

On a national level, 83 per cent of all Ombudsman investigations carried out were upheld and compliance with recommendations remained high at 99.7 per cent.

Across the country, Education and Children’s Services made up 27 per cent of the Ombudsman’s caseload and 47 per cent of all upheld investigations. The Ombudsman found fault in 91 per cent of all Education and Children’s complaints, and 94 per cent of cases involving special educational needs provision.

Housing cases accounted for 17 per cent of all cases received, which is a higher proportion than last year. Of those cases investigated, the Ombudsman upheld 85 per cent, with issues remaining particularly acute in the London area.

The third highest area of casework was adult care services, taking 13 per cent of the Ombudsman’s workload – a slightly smaller proportion than last year. Of these, 78 per cent of investigations carried out were upheld.

The report, along with data for each local authority in England is available on the Ombudsman’s website.