Ombudsman Releases 2024-25 Complaint Figures for South West Councils

Children’s Services and Planning top the complaint list for our region

A new report released today by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman shows the South West has one of the highest complaint rates in the country, with education and children’s services once again dominating concerns.

The Annual Review of Local Government Complaints for 2024-25 reveals that 10% of all complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman came from the South West, equating to 1,934 complaints. That’s 33.3 complaints per 100,000 residents, making it the third highest across all regions in England, behind only London and the South East.

Sharp focus on Children and Education

Of those complaints, 33% were related to Children and Education services, significantly higher than the national regional average of 28%. This figure translates to 10.9 complaints per 100,000 people in the South West, again placing the region third highest in the country for this category.

Commenting on the national picture, Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“Sitting at the apex of the complaint system for English local authorities, the complaints we receive – and the faults we find – can act as a bellwether for the state of local services across the country.

“We are receiving a higher number of complaints year-on-year and upholding those complaints in greater numbers. This reflects how systemic some of the issues across local government are.

“I appreciate national pressures in the key areas of Special Educational Needs, availability of housing and adult care are putting enormous strain on local authorities, but we still hold them accountable to the law and guidance and the high standards people expect from their local services. We are finding more fault, but I welcome their overwhelming compliance with the recommendations we make.”

Planning complaints also higher than average

The South West saw 12% of its complaints focused on Planning and Development, the highest percentage of any region. This is well above the average of 8% across England.

Housing, however, drew far fewer complaints in the region. Only 8% of the South West’s cases were about housing issues, significantly below the national average of 18%. With 2.8 complaints per 100,000 residents, the region was among the lowest in the country, ahead of only the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West.

Adult care complaints steady

Adult Care Services accounted for 14% of all complaints and enquiries in the South West, broadly in line with other regions. At 4.7 complaints per 100,000 residents, this figure sits just below the national average of 4.8.

More complaints upheld

Across all categories, the South West had an 84% uphold rate, slightly above the national average of 83%. That equated to 409 upheld decisions in the region, or 7.0 per 100,000 people – ranking third behind London and the Eastern region.

What’s happening nationally?

Nationally, the Ombudsman received more than 20,000 complaints for the first time ever. Education and Children’s Services made up 27% of all cases but accounted for a massive 47% of all upheld investigations. The Ombudsman found fault in 91% of complaints in this category, and in an even higher 94% of cases involving Special Educational Needs.

Housing cases accounted for 17% of all national complaints, up from the previous year. Of the cases investigated, 85% were upheld, with the biggest problems reported in London.

Adult care made up 13% of the Ombudsman’s total workload nationally, slightly down from last year, with 78% of investigations upheld.

👉 Complaints and Enquiries Received (by Category) 2024-25

👉 Complaints and Enquiries Decided (by Outcome) 2024-25

👉 Complaints and Enquiries Decided (by Outcome) 2024-25

👉 Remedy and compliance outcomes 2024-25

👉 Authorities that undertook Effective Complaint Handling training in 2024-25

👉 Authorities that undertook Effective Complaint Handling training in 2024-25