Watchdog upholds four complaints against Chesterfield council

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman upheld four out of seven complaints made about Chesterfield Borough Council in the year ending March 31 – they related to benefits and tax, planning and an allotment.

In the four previous years, a total of 50 complaints were made about the authority without a single one being upheld.

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In a letter addressed to council chief executive Huw Bowen, ombudsman Michael King stated satisfactory remedy had been provided by the authority in each case.

He said: “In these cases, the authority upheld the complaint and we agreed with how it offered to put things right.”

However, Mr King highlighted a need for better measures to be put in place to address complaints, adding: “I am increasingly concerned about the evidence I see of the erosion of effective complaint functions in local authorities. While no doubt the result of considerable and prolonged budget and demand pressures, the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have amplified the problems and my concerns.”

In the year ending March 31, the ombudsman upheld one complaint against Bolsover District Council, one against North East Derbyshire District Council, one against Derbyshire Dales District Council and 13 against Derbyshire County Council.

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