The number of complaints made against a council surged by nearly 400 last year. Stoke-on-Trent City Council received a total of 1,595 stage one corporate complaints in 2024/25, up from 1,199 in the previous year.

Complaints to the housing, regeneration and operations directorate, which rose to more than 1,000, accounted for the bulk of the overall increase, while complaints about children and family services were also up. The Housing Ombudsman Service – which considers housing-related complaints from council tenants – determined four cases of maladministration against the council in 2023/24, and one case of 'severe' maladministration.

These cases resulted in the council paying £5,773 compensation to the affected tenants, and issuing formal apologies. The number of maladministration cases means the council will receive an annual letter from the Housing Ombudsman – the first time this has happened.

The Housing Ombudsman Service determined four cases of maladministration last year (Nub News).

All these details are included in the council's annual customer feedback report, which will be considered by cabinet members at their meeting on Tuesday. Councillor Alastair Watson, cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate resources, said the council had been making improvements to its housing service.

He said: "As a council, we welcome feedback through the newly-revised Complaints, Comments and Compliments Policy to help understand what is most important to Stoke-on-Trent residents.

"Over the past 12 months there have been a number of improvements to the housing service including a proactive capital investment programme to ensure all council homes are safe and warm, and ongoing work to tackle damp and mould.

"The city council delivers a large number of services despite facing serious budget pressures and it will continue to strive to deliver services for the people of Stoke-on-Trent."

Service delay was the most common issue to spark a stage one complaint, followed by service failure.

Councillor Alastair Watson said the council had been making improvements to its housing service (Image supplied).

Housing, regeneration and operations received 1,054 complaints, around two thirds of the total. The strategy and resources directorate received 298 complaints, slightly down on the previous year, while children and family services received 146.

Just one in five complaints were fully upheld, while another 13 per cent were partially upheld. But more than half of the complaints – 60 per cent – were not upheld.

The council also saw an increase in stage two complaints – where the complainant is unhappy with the initial outcome and asks for their case to be referred to an independent investigator. There were 123 stage two complaints, up from 95 in the previous year and the highest number since 2019/20 – 41 per cent were upheld or partially upheld.

When a complainant has exhausted local complaints procedures, they can take their case to the ombudsman. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigated 16 enquiries about the city council, with 13 of these cases being upheld.

One of these cases involved a complaint that the council had failed to provide a man with accommodation, meaning he had been sleeping in his car since February 2023. The ombudsman found there was fault in the way the council delayed accepting a homeless duty, and told the authority to apologise, make a financial payment and issue guidance to staff.

The increase in complaints upheld by the Housing Ombudsman Service prompted a review of the council's complaints procedure, the repairs policy and record keeping.

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