Decision details

The Deputy Leader of the Council and the Vice Chair of Cabinet, on behalf of the Leader of the Council, and the Chief Legal Officer, introduced joint report on the receipt of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s (LGO) Annual Review for 2017/2018. The report gives the total number of complaints and enquiries received by the LGO with regard to Swindon Borough Council. The report highlighted the annual summary of statistics on the complaints made to the LGO regarding the Authority for the year ended 31st March 2019.

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Vice-Chair of Cabinet advised Members to note the Council’s determination to provide redress where necessary and its good record when compared to other authorities.

Councillors Brian Ford and Oliver Donachie spoke in favour of the report, thanking staff for responding to complaints responsibly, while noting that any complaint is a serious matter.

Resolved:

1)   That the LGO’s Annual Review 2018/19, including the summary of National Statistics, and the trends across service areas in Swindon 2010-2019, attached at Appendix 1 be noted.

2)   That Cabinet record its thanks to all officers for their efforts in dealing with complaints effectively.

3)   That the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors, Directors and Heads of Service be authorised to take appropriate actions to continue to ensure that, where possible, complaints are resolved internally before such matters are referred to the LGO and that requests for information from the LGO are dealt with promptly. 

The reasons for the decision and alternative options are as set out in the report to the meeting.