The Renewal, Recreation and Housing Information Briefing was scheduled to discuss the Annual Complaints Report and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's (LGSCO) letter for the 2025/26 period. The report pack provided detailed statistics on complaints received across various council departments, including Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, Housing, Planning & Regeneration, Education, Chief Executive's Department, and Environment & Public Protection.

Annual Complaints Report & LGSCO Letter 2025/26

The meeting was scheduled to consider the Annual Complaints Report for the 2025/26 financial year, which details the complaints received by the London Borough of Bromley. This report is a statutory requirement for social care complaints but the council extends its reporting to cover all departments. The report also includes an overview of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's (LGSCO) annual review letter and accompanying data for the same period.

The report indicated a significant increase in the total number of complaints received by the council, excluding Environment & Public Protection figures, which rose by 31% compared to the previous year. Overall, 49% of complaints were fully or partially upheld, a 4% increase from the previous year. The timeliness of responses remained at 61%, the same as the previous year, though this was noted to be adversely affected by increasing complaint numbers and static resources, as well as the complexity introduced by artificial intelligence. The financial consequences of upheld complaints amounted to £50,968.17, a 57% increase on the previous year.

Regarding the LGSCO, the number of referrals to the Ombudsman rose by 25% to 216. Of these, 54 resulted in investigations, with 49 being upheld against the Council, resulting in an upheld rate of 91%. This placed Bromley joint 23rd out of 32 London boroughs for upheld rates. A sole area of concern cited by the LGSCO for Bromley was its timeliness in responding to enquiries. However, the report noted an improvement in performance in the first quarter of the 26/27 business year, with 94% of responses made on time, following the establishment of a new role within the Customer Relations Service to manage these responses.

The report highlighted that the Making Bromley Even Better priority areas, which include improving life chances for children and young people, enabling adults and older people to live fulfilled lives, fostering a prosperous environment for residents and businesses, promoting a safe and green environment, and managing resources effectively, all applied to the considerations within the complaints report.

The recommendation for members of the committee was to note the report.

The report also provided detailed breakdowns of complaints by division, nature of complaint, and outcome, as well as financial consequences and compliments received across various council services.

• Adult Social Care: Received 120 complaints, with 50% upheld. Financial consequences amounted to £17,441.99.
• Children's Social Care: Received 84 complaints, with 41% upheld. Financial consequences were £0.00.
• Housing: Saw a significant increase in complaints to 148, with 25% upheld. Financial consequences were £1,000.00.
• Planning & Regeneration: Received 33 complaints, with 31% upheld. Financial consequences were £1,364.00.
• Education: Experienced a 29% increase in complaints to 195, with 69% upheld. Financial consequences were £30,200.00.
• Chief Executive's Department: Received 206 complaints, with 49% upheld. Financial consequences were £962.18.
• Environment & Public Protection: Saw a 37% decrease in complaints to 131, with 52% upheld. Financial consequences were £0.00.
• Public Health: Received no complaints.

The report also detailed the number of referrals and upheld cases to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman for each of these divisions.