Complaints about council upheld

Councillor Abdul Jabbar

A TOTAL of 10 complaints about Oldham Council were upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in the past year, new figures have shown.

Of the 63 complaints received by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman regarding Oldham Council, only 10 were upheld and recommendations were made.

A further three of the complaints which received detailed investigations were not upheld, while 20 were closed after initial enquiries.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman referred 26 complaints back for local resolution while four were deemed to be invalid or incomplete.

The figure for the number of upheld complaints was an increase from five the previous year.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, deputy leader of Oldham Council, said: "The council is contacted more than half a million times every year by residents.

"So, to put this into context, less than 0.02 per cent of enquiries are subject to Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman complaints.

"This year we had a slight increase in upheld complaints which was disappointing but, in part, is due to complaints from last year being reopened.

Improve

"We accepted and agreed with the recommendations set out by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in each of the cases that were upheld and we will continue to work with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and residents to improve our services."

The Ombudsman investigates complaints about all local authorities and social care providers in England. Every year it publishes the information it sends to councils to help with transparency and improve local services for residents.

The Ombudsman received 1,919 complaints about councils in the North West last year and, of the complaints investigated in detail 53 per cent were upheld, which follows the national trend (54 per cent).

Locally Rochdale Council had six complaints upheld, while Tameside had nine complaints upheld.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Michael King, said: "Our annual data release is a great opportunity for the public, councillors and council officers to gauge how their local authority responds to, and learns from, the complaints we receive about them.

"The best councils use our data to scrutinise the services they provide. I urge all councils to do that to make their services better in future.

"I want to encourage an open and mature attitude to complaints ­- one where they are valued within organisations as 'free feedback' and learning opportunities. Indeed, how an organisation deals with complaints says a lot about its culture.

Wealth

"The data we have issued, and wealth of information we publish on our website, are a valuable source of information about complaints handling and council performance."

The Ombudsman is also keen to point out that a high number of complaints does not necessarily mean a council is performing poorly and may indicate an authority that welcomes and encourages feedback, through a transparent system which signposts people appropriately.