This meeting was about the number, trends and outcomes of complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) about Coventry City Council. The meeting was provided with a report pack that included the minutes of the previous meeting and the LGSCO’s annual review letter.

Complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman 2023/24

The Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership was scheduled to consider a report on complaints made to the LGSCO about Coventry City Council in 2023/24.

The report explains that the LGSCO is the final stage for complaints about Councils, all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) and some other organisations providing local public services . It is a free service that investigates complaints in a fair and independent way and provides a means of redress to individuals for injustice caused by unfair treatment or service failure . The report goes on to describe that:

The LGSCO issues an annual letter to the Leader and Chief Executive of every Council, summarising the number and trends of complaints dealt with relating to that Council that year. The latest letter, issued 17 July 2024, covers complaints to the LGSCO relating to Coventry City Council between April 2023 and March 2024 (2023/24).

The report analyses the number of complaints by service area, comparing them to the number received in previous years, as well as to the number received by other similar local authorities. The report also analyses how many of the complaints investigated by the LGSCO were upheld, and the time the Council took to respond to their enquiries. In total, the LGSCO investigated 8 complaints about Coventry City Council in 2023/24 and upheld 3.

The report summarises the outcomes of the complaints that the LGSCO investigated by service area, and the actions agreed by the Council in response to the LGSCO’s recommendations.

The report also describes some changes made by the LGSCO to the way it works, explaining that:

In February, following a period of consultation, the LGSCO launched the Complaint Handling Code for councils, setting out a clear process for responding to complaints effectively and fairly.

The report concludes by describing the Council’s own internal processes for dealing with complaints to the LGSCO, which are overseen by the Customer Service Team.

Minutes (Pages 3 - 4)

The Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership was scheduled to agree the minutes from the meeting held on 20 November 2023 (Minutes of Previous Meeting).