Complaints to Local Government Ombudsman rocket by 20%+ in 2010/11
Complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman have soared by more than 20% in the last 12 months, the watchdog’s annual report has revealed.
The LGO said there were 21,840 complaints and enquiries dealt with at the initial point of contact in 2010/11 – a rise of 21%. This translated into 11,249 complaints being forwarded to the Ombudsman’s investigation teams, up 7.5%.
The annual report, which predicted that this upward trend would continue, reveals that the sector currently providing the greatest number of complaints is education and children’s services, with 15% more than in 2009/10.
Adult social care complaints are also rising rapidly, up almost 50% on the previous year to 974. Those concerning special educational needs also increased. On the plus side, complaints about planning have reduced.
The LGO issued 25 reports during the year in cases where there was maladministration causing injustice. Redress was meanwhile obtained or recommended in 2,474 cases, or just over a quarter of all complaints determined. This percentage is broadly in line with 2009/10.
There were seven applications for permission to seek judicial review over an Ombudsman’s decision. None were successful, save for one case where the court’s decision is still awaited.
The last 12 months have seen the LGO’s remit expanded. The Ombudsman can now hear complaints from adults who arrange or fund their own care, rather than just local authority complaints in this area. This means they now have jurisdiction over all registered care providers. In the six months to 31 March 2011, the LGO received 75 complaints under this new jurisdiction.
The LGO has also been empowered to hear complaints from pupils or their parents about schools. However, this only applies at the moment to schools in 14 council areas. Nevertheless, the LGO received 169 complaints during the year, mostly about bullying, teacher conduct and special educational needs.
Dr Jane Martin, one of the Ombudsmen and Acting Chair of the Commission for Local Administration, predicted that the pressures on public services in the current financial climate would lead to additional demand for the LGO’s service.
“This is linked to potential growth in demand for our service as a result of public spending reductions and an increase in complaints about privately funded or arranged adult social care,” she said.
Dr Martin added: “As Local Government Ombudsmen, we provide an important mechanism for local public accountability. We have continued to develop our service to ensure that, as well as providing redress for individual citizens, lessons from complaints are used to improve local public service delivery and benefit the wider community.”
As well as publishing its annual report, the LGO has also sent annual review letters to every local authority in England. These summarise the complaints the Ombudsmen received about each council.
Philip Hoult
