The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said ‘injustices’ are going ‘unremedied’ due to limitations on his powers.
Michael King’s annual report covering 2021-22 revealed his office decided 17,534 cases, with 4,253 cases involving a detailed investigation, and 66% were upheld.
However, the report read: ‘We know from the complaints we cannot investigate that there are others who feel marginalised but are without the right to an independent review of their issue.’
It added that by making ‘modifications to strengthen and modernise our system we could help remedy further injustices that currently go unremedied’.
The report said last year the service faced increasing demand and a backlog exacerbated by the pandemic.
Mr King's office has begun to focus on issues that have a ‘wider public interest’ and has been ‘increasingly less likely to investigate matters in detail that have caused minor irritation or annoyance’.
The Ombudsman said: ‘The plan we introduced, to get our casework onto a sustainable footing, means we can focus on reducing waiting times in the short term, but not at the cost of equally important work to share the learning from our investigations.’
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
