The Merton Council Governance Standards and Audit Committee met on 18 September 2025, to discuss corporate complaints, human resources, gifts and hospitality, and the nomination for Freeperson of the Borough status. The committee reviewed and noted the Council's complaints and compliments reports, covering the period of 2024-25, and also the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)^[1] annual letter. The committee also agreed to recommend the nomination of individuals for Freeperson of the Borough status to the council for approval.

Corporate Complaints Report

The committee reviewed the council's complaints and compliments report for 2024/25, along with reports for Children's Services and Adult Social Care. Publishing annual reports for Children's Services and Adult Social Care complaints is a statutory requirement under The Children Act 1989, Representations Procedure Regulations (England) 2006; and The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 respectively. While publishing an annual council complaints report isn't required by law, the LGSCO encourages it as good practice.

The LGSCO issued its annual letter on 21 May 2025, regarding the council's performance for the year ending 31 March 2025. The letter specifically addresses cases escalated to the Ombudsman when complainants remain unsatisfied with the council's investigations.

The LGSCO uses three key performance indicators:

• Complaints upheld: Fault is found in the council's actions. For 2024/25, 13 out of 14 investigations were upheld.
• Compliance with recommendations: The LGSCO expects 100% compliance with recommendations to resolve a complaint. For 2024/25, the council complied with 100% of the recommendations.
• Satisfactory remedy provided by the authority: The Ombudsman encourages early resolution of complaints. In 2024/25, the council resolved two cases before the LGSCO investigated.

The LGSCO Annual Letter 2024-25 noted that the council had addressed previous concerns about delays in providing information and completing recommended actions. Officers were urged to maintain robust monitoring to ensure continued improvement.

The committee also reviewed the Corporate Complaints and Compliments Report 2024/25, the Childrens Services Complaints Report 2024/25, and the Adult Social Care Complaints Report 2024/25. The Corporate Complaints and Compliments Report 2024/25 noted that the council received 1,062 formal stage one corporate complaints, a 13% increase from the previous year. However, the number of complaints upheld at stage one decreased. The main areas with increased complaints were delays in issuing blue badges, homelessness and housing needs, and refuse collections. Actions were being taken to address these issues.

The Childrens Services Complaints Report 2024/25 noted that 30 complaint requests were submitted under the statutory procedure, five more than in the previous year. The Adult Social Care Complaints Report 2024/25 stated that the total number of stage 1 complaints logged in 2024/25 was 70, compared with 59 the year before.

The committee agreed to publish the annual reports on the council's website.

Human Resources Update

The committee received an update on the use of temporary workers and consultants, and HR demographics data. The report provided an update on the use of interims and agency workers, known as contingent workers, from January 2025 to June 2025. It also included an update on key people metrics, including the use of the apprenticeship levy.

The council is committed to reducing spending on agency workers and building a stable, highly skilled permanent workforce. Agency workers are used to provide flexible resourcing, meet statutory staffing requirements, and provide additional capacity for time-limited projects.

The management focus on agency spend is showing results, with spend reducing from an annualised high of approximately £23 million to £19 million. Data from May 2024 suggests a current spend in 2025 of £17 million per annum.

The report noted that the headcount of agency workers increased by 47 between January 2025 and June 2025, mainly due to waste contract operatives who transferred back to Merton in April 2025. However, 26 of these agency workers are moving to permanent contracts.

The committee noted the progress made to monitor and reduce reliance on agency workers and performance on other HR metrics.

Code of Conduct Complaints

The committee received the Member Complaints Annual Report 2025, an annual update on Code of Conduct complaints against members of the council. Since September 2024, four complaints had been processed under the Members' Code of Conduct. None were dealt with informally, one was not accepted as it fell outside the code, and three were not referred for formal investigation as it was not proportionate to do so. The complaints related to councillors' use of social media, sharing of information, and disrespect. All complaints were made by members of the public.

The committee noted the report, and that the complaints had not identified the need for additional member training on ethical standards or the Code of Conduct.

Gifts and Hospitality

The committee discussed the Officer Gifts and Hospitality report, the yearly update on the registration by officers of gifts and hospitality. The Appendix 1 - Officer Gifts Hospitality Register Extract accompanied the report. The code of conduct for employees requires that all offers of gifts are reported to managers, significant gifts (over £25) are registered, and all offers of hospitality are reported.

The inspection of the register showed that departmental registers are maintained electronically in all departments. There were 11 registrations in total:

• Adult Social Care and Public Health: 0
• Chief Executive's: 3
• Environment, Civic Pride and Climate: 3
• Housing and Sustainable Development: 3
• Innovation and Change: 2
• Finance and Digital: 0
• Children, Lifelong Learning & Families: 0

The entries no longer include tennis tickets from the AELTC managed under the staff ballot, as this is a centrally managed process.

The committee noted that there were no entries for Children, Lifelong Learning and Families, Finance & Digital, or Adult Social Care and Public Health, and asked that managers in these departments remind staff of the requirements concerning gifts and hospitality.

The committee also discussed the Gifts and Hospitality - Councillors Report 250918, and the Appendix - Gifts Hospitality Register Extract. The code of conduct for councillors requires that councillors do not accept gifts or hospitality that could give rise to real or substantive personal gain, and that they register any gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £25.

27 councillors made declarations on 52 occasions. The review of the registers indicated that members are aware of their responsibilities, and regular reminders are sent to group offices to facilitate compliance.

The committee agreed that members should continue to be reminded by the Monitoring Officer of their responsibility to complete declarations of gifts and hospitality reports within 28 days of receipt. It was also agreed that the method in which members report receipt of gifts and hospitality should move from the online form to an email-based reporting template.

Freedom of the Borough

The committee considered a report on the Nomination for Freeperson of the Borough Status. The council has the power under section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by Section 29 of the Local Democracy Act 2009, to admit persons of distinction as freemen or freewomen of the Borough.

The committee agreed to recommend the nomination of the named individuals as detailed within the exempt appendix for Freeperson of the Borough Status to the council for approval.

Work Programme

The committee noted the Work Programme, subject to updating items for consideration on Independent Persons, removing duplication, and including future training/briefing on Artificial Intelligence.