Watchdog considers 64 complaints against Slough council in 2016/17

Sixty-four complaints about Slough Borough Council were lodged with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in the financial year 2016/17.

The ombudsman investigates complaints about local authorities and social care providers in England and publishes information every year.

Of the 64 complaints, three were dismissed as ‘incomplete or invalid’, 32 were referred back for local resolution, 18 were closed after initial inquiries and advice was given after two.

A total of seven were upheld and five were not, meaning an uphold rate of 58 per cent.

Four were ‘remedied’ by the ombudsman and one was resolved by the council before intervention.

The most common complaints were about benefits and tax, housing, education and children’s services.

In the previous year, 2015/16, the ombudsman received 47 complaints about Slough, dismissing two as invalid, upholding eight, not upholding six and resolving the rest through local resolutions and advice.

Click here to see a breakdown of the number of complaints received for each service in the borough.