THE Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman received a total of 51 complaints and enquiries involving Warrington Borough Council during 2023-24, with seven upheld.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said it was “abundantly clear” councils were struggling with financial stability with a strain on Special Educational Needs (SEN) & Disability Services.
Of the complaints made against Warrington Borough Council, nine involved Adult Social Care, five involved Benefits and Tax, one Corporate and other services, 16 involved Education & Children’s Services, 12 involved Environmental Services, Public Protection Regulation, two for Highways and Transport, two for housing and four for planning and development.
Advice was given in one case, 14 were referred back for local resolution, 23 were closed after initial enquiries, one was not upheld, while seven were upheld at a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 residents, providing an upheld rate of 88 per cent compared to 79 per cent upheld rate of similar size authorities.
Of the seven upheld cases Warrington Borough Council provided a 100 per cent satisfaction in implementing recommendations to remedy the complaint.
Nationally 17, 937 complaints were received with 17,126 decided.
A total of 4,003 complaints were investigated of which 3,215 were upheld. Twelve per cent had satisfactory remedies while there was 99.5 per cent compliance with recommendations.
The upheld rate was 80 per cent with 5.6 upheld complaints per 100,000 residents.
Commenting on the findings overall Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said: “Observing the local government landscape, it is abundantly clear there are significant challenges, in particular the task of achieving financial stability when faced with rising demand on services. All authorities, regardless of type, size, or geography, are facing sizeable issues, but some concerns stand out as systemic; in particular, the strain on Special Educational Needs (SEN) & Disability Services. We have regularly highlighted the issues families face in getting the SEN support they are entitled to, and it is clear that action at a national policy level is needed and now. The complaints that come to us provide great insight into individual organisations and the sector.
Nationally, our data shows rising numbers of complaints received, an increase in the number of complaints we uphold, and it has highlighted ongoing issues within SEN, housing and adult social care services.
