THE Local Government Ombudsman upheld 60 per cent of complaints against Wiltshire Council according to the latest report.

A total of 21 cases were upheld of 35 detailed investigations for the period between 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022

In all cases the Ombudsman was satisfied the Council had successfully implemented his recommendations.

This compares to an average of 99% in similar authorities.

In 10% of upheld cases the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.

This compares to an average of 12% in similar authorities.

One case related to an issue of special educational needs in which a man complained the council failed to consult him when it assessed if his son should have an education, health and care plan and took too long to correct statements which were inaccurate or distressing to him.

He also complained it had not done enough to monitor education his son had received at home, being provided by the child’s mother.

The Ombudsman upheld the first part of the complaint but considered the council had provided a satisfactory remedy for any injustice caused.

In the second case a woman complained the council failed to collect her council tax last year and expected her to pay two years tax in the next 12 months. The council had taken appropriate action to correct its error.

The Ombudsman has directed more improvements to local councils in the South West in the past year than ever before.

The annual review of complaints gives a concise overview of the state of local government complaints over the past year.

Most complaints were about children and education - 21% and this area had the highest uphold rate at 72%.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “One complaint can have immense power to change things for the better, and we’re increasingly focusing on to how we, and the local authorities we investigate, take the learning from those complaints and improve service provision.

“The vast majority of councils agree to the recommendations we make and see them as common-sense ways of providing better services for people in their area. However this can only happen when councils act swiftly when they have committed to do so.

“Unfortunately we are seeing some councils taking longer to make those changes, which put them at risk of making the same mistakes again. In 18% of cases we found compliance was late.

“While I welcome the professional way in which the majority of councils continue to work with us.”