More complaints to Wiltshire Council shows that the Conservatives still aren't listening

After a 10% increase in complaints about Wiltshire Council last year, the Local Government Ombudsman has criticised the Council for slow progress in responding to complainants and finding solutions.

Jon Hubbard,Lib Dem Group Leader, said "The average time the council took to respond was 34 days, when the maximum time allowed by the Obudsman is 28 days. This isn't good enough, and marks out an unresponsive Conservative Administration, unwilling to listen to the people of Wiltshire."

"The report shows how the Council spent thousands of pounds last year paying compensation for mistakes. This has to change. The Conservatives need to make responding to the public a priority, and ensure that the problems people have with the Council's services are dealt with quickly. If they can invest in efficiently fixing complaints, they'll save Wiltshire from having to pay out this level of compensation."

Trevor Carbin, Lib Dem Councillor for Holt and Staverton, said "The Ombudsman's report reveals that the average was dragged up by the excessive amount of time taken on a few cases. The worst departments for dealing with complaints were housing and anti-social behaviour. Astonishingly, in one case the council took over ten weeks to respond to the Ombudsman!"

There were ten cases of maladministration which the council settled by making payments to the victims, at a total cost of over £9,000. In another case the council paid out over £6,000 for mistreating a child with complex special needs. "This sum was based on the cost of missed respite provision, the devastating effect this had on the complainant and her family and her time and trouble in pursuing the complaint," said the Ombudsman.

Incompetence in the Housing department resulted in payouts of £750 after a sheltered housing applicant was left distressed and inconvenienced, and £400 was paid to a homeless family after "failures in the council's response to the families homelessness application".

Note: The report is ato the Standards Committee including the Ombudsman's letter to chief executive Andrew Kerr see http://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/ieAgenda.aspx?A=5179