Children’s services and education are top reason for people complaining about local authorities

Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 14 August 2023

Complaints about children’s services and education now make up nearly a quarter of the total received in England by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) - and more than eight out of ten are upheld.

The annual ombudsman complaints statistics throw a light on the issues people most commonly complain to local councils about.

In the annual LGSCO review of local government complaints for 2022-3, there were:

• 1,263 detailed investigations into education and children's services, of which 84 per cent were upheld
• 898 investigations into adult care services, of which 73 per cent were upheld
• 535 investigations into housing, of which 78 per cent were upheld
• 438 investigations into planning and development, of which 48 per cent were upheld
• 394 investigations into environment and public protection, of which 74 per cent were upheld
• 240 investigations into benefits and tax, of which 79 per cent were upheld
• 233 investigations into highways and transport, of which 63 per cent were upheld
• 89 investigations into corporate, of which 70 per cent were upheld

In the Ombudsman’s first report in 2014, only 17 per cent of complaints concerned education and children’s services.

But this has now risen to a quarter (24 per cent) of the organisation’s workload.

The Ombudsman said: "We continue to find the highest proportion of fault in complaints about Education and Children’s Services, and they remain some of our most  high-profile cases, featuring in more than half of our public interest reports. 

"The themes of these reports are all too familiar – failure to properly provide for special educational needs and education, health and care plans are common features. While we are aware of the challenges authorities face, at the heart of many of these complaints are children and young people going without the support they are entitled to, and we will continue to hold authorities to account for what they are required to provide."

Figures are highest in the south east where a third (33 per cent) of complaints are about children’s services or education, compared with nearby London where children and education make up 12 per cent of residents’ complaints.

In the London area, housing and homelessness were the biggest concern (26 per cent), compared with 15 per cent of complaints nationwide. 

In the north, residents were more likely to complain about adult social care services, making up nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of complaints, compared with a national average of 13 per cent.

The Ombudsman received 15,488 complaints and enquiries over the past year. It made 2,412 recommendations to improve council services – more than ever before.

It also made 4,907 recommendations to remedy individuals’ personal injustice, including apologies, reimbursement of fees and reassessments for services which should have been provided.

Local authorities have largely complied with and implemented the Ombudsman’s recommendations, only failing to do so in 0.7 per cent of cases.

Paul Najsarek, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Although local authorities often get things right, we frequently find councils repeating the same mistakes, ploughing ahead and not taking a step back to see the bigger picture.

“Our latest statistics shed light on the harsh realities people across the country face in crucial aspects of their lives. Council leaders now need to focus on learning from common faults and injustices so they can make a significant difference to the people our local authorities serve.”

The news comes as Birmingham City Council has agreed to revise how it responds to complaints after it wrongly told families with disabled children to appeal to the ombudsman.

The issue emerged when a mother complained to LGSCO about the way the council handled her complaints about the respite it awarded for her teenaged son.

Instead of dealing with the mother’s complaint through the statutory three-stage complaints process, it instead directed the mother to have her appeal “further reviewed by the LGO”.

During the investigation, the Ombudsman found 27 other families had been wrongly told to appeal to the LGSCO in the past year alone.

The Ombudsman has made it clear to the council that it is not an appeals body and the council has agreed to apologise to the mother. It will also pay her £500, and will amend its complaints policy and appeals process to ensure complainants have the opportunity to use the statutory complaints procedure.