Housing performance

On 29 September 2025, the Audit and Governance Committee reviewed the annual letters from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) annual report, alongside the council’s self-assessment and annual complaints performance and service improvement report as required by the Complaint Handling Code.

Key points raised included:

• Complaint Volumes and Themes: Members noted the increase in upheld complaints. Repairs, delays, and poor service standards were recurring issues in housing.
• Service Improvements: The Committee welcomed the introduction of the digital case management system, which has improved response times and complaint handling performance. The internal remedy policy was also noted as a positive step toward more efficient resolution.
• Governance and Risk Management: Complaints management remains on the council’s risk register. Members supported the escalation protocol introduced to improve deadline compliance and reduce repeat findings from the Ombudsman.
• Member Engagement and Transparency: There was support for extending complaint data sharing to ward councillors to improve transparency and help members manage constituent expectations. Suggestions were made to broaden access to the MP toolkit and ensure councillors are kept informed of complaint trends.
• Capacity Challenges: Members acknowledged national pressures affecting service delivery, particularly in education, where limited alternative provision is contributing to delays and increased complaints.

The Committee noted the contents and recommendations of the Ombudsman findings and the council’s annual complaints performance and service improvement report and endorsed the proposed actions to strengthen complaint handling and governance oversight.

On 17 August 2026, the Audit and Governance Committee received a report which included the council’s self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and Housing’s annual complaints performance and service improvement report for 2025/26 as required by the Code.

Agenda, papers and minutes for the meeting.

Key points discussed during the committee meeting included:

• Organisational learning - The committee noted that complaints continued to be an important source of organisational learning and welcomed the report highlighting examples of how changes had been implemented following complaints being received - members emphasised the importance of learning from complaints, understanding residents' lived experiences and addressing recurring themes
• Complaint themes - The Committee noted that principal themes related to repairs and maintenance, damp and mould, communication with tenants and the complaint handling processes
• Improved performance - Positive performance against the complaint handling timescales was acknowledged, along with improved tenant satisfaction measures and a positive Internal Audit assurance opinion were also highlighted
• Complexity of cases - A discussion focused on the increasing complexity of cases and the need to address root causes and reduce the number of housing repairs complaints received

The Committee approved both the self-assessment and the Annual Landlord Complaints performance and Service Improvement Report and endorsed the proposed actions to strengthen complaint handling and governance oversight.

Following approval at the Audit and Governance Committee the documents will be submitted to the Housing Ombudsman by 30 September 2026 and published on the council’s website.