Ombudsman reminds councils about good complaint handling after investigations find “significant issues”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised a pair of authorities over complaint handling after finding "significant issues" with the procedures of the London Borough of Islington and Cumbria County Council.

In Islington, an investigation uncovered a large backlog of stage two corporate complaints after the council said it would take six months to begin investigating a resident's complaint.

When the Ombudsman started a new investigation to look at these delays, it found 44 people had open complaints with the council and had already waited significantly longer than they should have.

In Cumbria, meanwhile, a previous investigation had revealed the council had "serious delays" when conducting stage two of the statutory children's complaints procedure.

The Ombudsman opened a new investigation to consider that issue further and found between October 2021 and October 2022, 12 other complainants had been waiting at least 90 days, significantly longer than the maximum of 65 days the law allows for the process.

Commenting on the investigations, Nigel Ellis, Chief Executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "When done well, good complaint handling not only restores residents' faith in their local authorities' ability to get things right, it also offers an invaluable opportunity for councils to learn from things that have gone wrong and put in place measures to improve their services for others."

He added: "In 2020 we updated our guidance for councils on Good Complaint Handling, and despite the tumultuous changes that have taken place in the intervening three years, getting the basics right – communication, accountability, the desire to improve, and above all keeping the person at the heart of the complaint - is still as important as ever.

"In both cases, the councils have told me that they have struggled to put the resources in place to ensure they were able to cope with the demand. And, while I sympathise with their situations, this can never be an excuse for poor practice."

In light of the Ombudsman's findings, Islington recruited more staff to clear its backlog, commissioned an independent review of its complaint-handling processes and had already made significant changes.

It also agreed to write to each of the 44 people it has identified who have been affected by the issues and apologise for its delay in responding to their complaints.

Cumbria County Council was disbanded at the end of March 2023. The region's two new successor councils - Westmorland and Furness Council, and Cumberland Council - have both agreed to write to the people in their regions who have been identified during the investigation but who had not already approached the Ombudsman.

The two new unitary councils agreed to apologise for the delays and pay the people affected £25 a month for every month of delay above the 65 working day time period. They will also ensure each complainant is aware of their rights under the statutory children's complaints procedure.

Responding to the findings, Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance, said: “We’re very sorry some residents have experienced delays in responses to their complaints. Like many local authorities, we saw a significant increase in complaints following the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to an increase in response times.

“We have taken urgent action to address this, including increasing the number of complaints staff, bringing in an experienced complaints manager, and regularly monitoring progress.”

He added: “For several months we have also been carrying out a full review of complaints, in collaboration with the Ombudsman service, to bring further improvements.”

A spokesperson acting on behalf of both Westmorland and Furness Council, and Cumberland Council said: "The LGSCO has now published a report on its review into the two new councils’ predecessor, Cumbria County Council (CCC) and its handling of complaints. This report focused on the delays in investigating complaints at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure (between October 2021 – October 2022). 

“The LGSCO found that 12 cases had not met the agreed procedure or timescale and as such has set out recommendations for improvements that must be undertaken within three months. 

“Both councils are committed to making the improvements needed to the complaints process and to delivering the best services possible for its residents and communities.”

The spokesperson added: “Whilst the report focuses on complaints that were handled by the county council, there are clear recommended actions for both new councils to take forward to ensure any outstanding issues are addressed in relation to these particular complaints, and that both councils put in place measures to ensure the timely handling of complaints going forward." 

Six of the cases identified by the Ombudsman were in the now Cumberland Council area and the other six were in the now Westmorland and Furness Council area.

Adam Carey