Decision details

Members considered the report of the Executive Director that set out details of 11 complaints made to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) covering the period 1 June to 14 November 2019.  The Head of Service Housing and Community reported that of the 11 complaints detailed, two were upheld, one was not upheld, six were not investigated, one had been withdrawn and one was awaiting the final decision.  In both cases where the complaint had been upheld, the recommendations from the Ombudsman had been carried out and actions taken to avoid similar occurrences.

Previously the Committee asked for details in relation to non–ombudsman complaints made to the authority for the same period.  There were 116 complaints made by residents from 1 June 2019 to 14 November 2019.  Of these, 77 were non-complaints, 21 were resolved at the initial stage, one was a stage one complaint, one was a stage two complaint and 16 were awaiting determination/under investigation.

It was noted that the LGO recorded the number of complaints per 10,000 individuals; the result for Rother District Council was below the average for local authorities.  Members were pleased to note that the new complaints procedure had resulted in an increase in the number of complaints being resolved in their early stages.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.