Only one-fifth of complaints to Ombudsman about councils upheld

COMPLAINTS AND enquiries made about councils in Yorkshire and the Humber were upheld in fewer than one-fifth of cases over the past year, new statistics show.

The Local Government Ombudsman, an independent body that looks into individual complaints about councils, has issued its annual figures relating to authorities in the region. During 2019/20, people made 1,231 complaints about all councils across Yorkshire and 192 cases were upheld (15.5 per cent).

However, of the complaints the Ombudsman actually investigated in the region, the upholding rate was 61 per cent. It will not investigate every complaint it receives because, for example, it does not have the jurisdiction to do so, the complaint may simply be a general enquiry or the complainant has not exhausted all other options so investigating is deemed premature.

Leeds Council, the region’s largest council area and the third biggest city in the country, had the most complaints at 185 – the majority of which, 33, related to education and children. However, just 31 of those initial complaints were upheld.

Sheffield was second highest, with 143 complaints and enquiries – but had the highest regional number of upheld complaints at 34 (23 per cent).

A spokesman for Leeds Council said: “If a complaint is upheld, we will always fully review the findings and take any appropriate action as required. This forms part of our ongoing work to ensure that we continually review and improve services and support to ensure that they are fit for purpose and robust.”

In 2018/19, there were 1,253 complaints and enquiries in Yorkshire and the Humber, with only 170 being upheld. The highest uphold rate in 2019/20 was for the area of children and education (73 per cent), and the lowest was for housing (36 per cent), according to the Ombudsman.