Number of complaints upheld by Ombudsman after investigation on the rise

Over the course of the year the LGO dealt with a total of 31,664 complaints and enquiries from the public.

Of the 18,882 cases it decided, 5,031 were dealt with at the assessment stage, and 4,331 through a detailed investigation. The Ombudsman upheld 57% of detailed investigations.

The LGO meanwhile revealed it had made 730 recommendations to improve services for the wider public in 2017/18, almost a fifth more than the year before. Service improvement recommendations often include reviewing policies and practices, and training staff.

Overall, the Ombudsman made 3,949 recommendations in 2017/18, which includes actions to put things right for the individuals that complained.

The Ombudsman, Michael King, said: “Our recommendations for service improvement are helping local authorities unlock the power of our investigations, to improve the lives of many people who haven’t directly complained to us.

“I welcome where councils and care providers have worked constructively with us to remedy injustices and take on board the learning from our cases.

“Last year we put considerable effort into changing our processes to give more sophisticated information about the impact of our recommendations. In future, I hope this will help councils increasingly to capitalise on the added value complaints can bring.”

The Ombudsman said it had met all of its time targets for completing investigations. It completed 79% of investigations within 13 weeks; 91% of investigations within 26 weeks; and 99% of investigations within 52 weeks.