Town Hall sees upheld complaints spike by 25 per cent in a year

Islington Town Hall. Photograph: Islington Council.

Islington Council has seen the number of successful complaints against it jump by 25 per cent in a single year.

Of the 16 cases which underwent a detailed investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), 11 were upheld as findings of maladministration on the part of the Town Hall.

Nine of the complaints were split between housing and adult care services, with two others against the benefits and environment services wings of the council.

Complaints upheld against the council in 2017/18 included:

• delays in the handling of a homelessness application.
• the council making an offer for the freehold of a property which it later decided it should not have and delaying in providing a full explanation of the reason.
• allowing a resident’s possessions to be destroyed during a thorough clean.

A council report on the matter reads: “The increase in the upheld rate is due largely to change changes to the way the LGSCO now approaches complaint investigations.

“Previously, the LGSCO would focus their investigation solely on the issue raised by the complainant.

“This has however changed and the LGSCO now adopts a much wider and more rigorous approach to investigations that incorporates all aspects of the council’s complaint handling procedures.”