Issue - meetings

Members considered a report on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Annual Review letter 2020/21. This report examined the Annual Review Letter which covered complaints that were either received or decided by the LGSCO during the 2020/21 period.

Section 2 of the report included the annual review figures, these were summarised to the Committee and highlighted in the Executive Summary.

Historical data on complaints referred to the LGSCO was included along with comparison to previous year’s figures and findings.  Noting, the LGSCO had not accepted new complaints and had stopped investigating existing cases between the 18^th March 2020 and 29^th June 2020, to allow authorities to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. This had reduced the number of complaints the LGSCO received and decided during the 2020/21 year.

Section 3 of the report provided further information of those complaints upheld, two in total, with sections 4 and 5 setting out how the authority had complied with any recommendations from the LGSCO and any learning it had implemented as a result.

Finally the report compared how West Lindsey District Council had performed overall nationally and in comparison to 20 other similar local authorities in terms of the number of complaints referred, investigated and upheld by the LGSCO.

RESOLVED that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Annual Review letter 2020/21 and report be welcomed, and having scrutinised its content the Committee have assurance that the current complaint handling procedures are functioning adequately.