The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has reminded local authorities about the importance of handling complaints properly after it found problems with two councils’ procedures.
The Ombudsman used its powers to investigate wider issues at the London Borough of Islington and the former Cumbria County Council where it uncovered problems with the councils’ complaints processes.
In Islington a large backlog was revealed after a resident was told it would take six months to begin investigating their complaint about antisocial behaviour.
The Ombudsman started a new investigation to look at these delays and found 44 people had open complaints with the council and had already waited far longer than they should have.
In Cumbria the Ombudsman found that complainants had been waiting at least 90 days, more than the maximum of 65 days the law allows for the process.
Nigel Ellis, chief executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: 'In both cases, the councils have told me that they have struggled to put the resources in place to ensure they were able to cope with the demand.
'And, while I sympathise with their situations, this can never be an excuse for poor practice.'
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