1. Under pressure: supporting councils to handle complaints well
Anne Flegg and Nicola Driver
Introductions
.org.uk
@LGOmbudsman

2. What we’ll be covering in this workshop
1 Who we are
2 What we do
3 Complaints we see
4 Decisions we make
5 Joint working with PHSO
6 Sharing our learning: how we can help
7 Common situations
Talking about LGSCO complaint handling and then briefly around joint working, plus time at the end for any questions.

3. who
Been in existence since 1974 – not that common in the public sector! 1
we are

4. 165 staff (FTE)
Significant reduction in costs and staff numbers
Statutory remit remains broadly the same
Business efficiency crucial to success (e.g. paperless systems, high reliance on IT, minimal back office costs, shared govt accommodation)
All 3 offices re-located
Have recruited investigators in past 18 months. 5 new staff started at the end of Sept
Currently recruiting again
3 offices

5. OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN EVERY COMPLAINT IS AN
(even that you’re doing things right!)
(It might not always feel this way, but) complaints are good things!
they can act as a warning when things go wrong
they provide low-cost intelligence about trends and performance
they offer a chance to put things right
can be an opportunity to acknowledge when somebody has done the right thing/a good job
As you will see, this philosophy runs throughout everything we do

6. what
If you break things down into their simplest form, we exist to do two things … 2
we do

7. -&- INJUSTICE SERVICES REMEDY IMPROVE our twin aims are to
We investigate complaints about councils, care providers and some other organisations (eg schools where own AA).
We look at:
was the organisation at fault? – e.g.:
unreasonable delay
failure to observe regulations / guidance / codes of practice
flawed decision making
did this fault cause personal injustice? – e.g.:
loss of services
unnecessary hardship
what can be done to put things right?
financial redress
procedure change
staff training
the power of an apology
We are independent and impartial – we don’t take sides. We’re not advocates.
We are unique (within ombudsman schemes) in our ability to extend our investigations to consider other residents who may have been likewise affected by the fault/inj we have identified (Liverpool F and F and Knowsley report –reduction of respite without reassessment of needs)
An important aspect of this role is that we are the ‘end of the line’. Our decisions may not always be popular but they should at least be fair and final. We understand how important this can be to bodies in our jurisdiction.

8. complaints
Our remit includes all functions of councils in England, plus all social care (including privately funded) and a range of other administrative functions (e.g. those of fire authorities, police and crime commissioners, transport authorities). I’m going to talk a bit later about our joint working team 3
we see

9. 19,000 complaints received [2016-17]
Education & Children’s Services and Adult Care Services are consistently most common complaint categories
Health – new category; Joint Working Team
[ ]

10. Complaints and enquiries received, 2017-2018

11. 2017 – 2018 investigations received 17,452 complaints and enquiries
carried out 4020 detailed investigations‒ and published our decisions about them online
upheld 57% of complaints against local authorities where we carried out a detailed investigation
made 3622 recommendations to put things right
(LGSCO’s Annual Review of Local Government Complaints )

12. decisions
Title slide only 4
we make

13. -&- 35% 25% are referred back for LOCAL RESOLUTION are forwarded for
(over a third)
are referred back for
LOCAL RESOLUTION
-&-
25%
BinJs should ensure they advise customers of their right to escalate to LGO at the right point in the complaints process
Councils can check the annual statistics on our website to check their own refer-back rate
(a quarter)
are forwarded for
DETAILED INVESTIGATION

14. Uphold Rates 63% 62% 60% 54% 48% 45% 43% 35% Adult Care Services
Education & Children
60%
Benefits & Tax
54%
Housing
Uphold Rates
48%
Environmental Services
45%
Highways & Transport
As previously mentioned, the overall uphold rate is 51%
Are these variations a surprise to you?
Any thoughts about why uphold rates in certain services should be so much higher or lower than others?
43%
Corporate & Other Services
35%
Planning & Development

15. 4,000 Nearly unique remedies recommended to PUT THINGS RIGHT Apologise
Make a financial payment
Change procedures
Improve training
Most common remedies include:
Apologise – “the power of an apology” (1,073 instances)
Financial redress (1,130 instances)
Procedure change (515 instances)
We now keep a record when we agree that BinJ offered satisfactory remedy following their own investigation

17. Types of remedies 2016/17

18. 5
Joint working: Collaborate and learn

19. What the regs say
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009
organisations must “co-operate for the purpose of (a) coordinating the handling of the complaint; and (b) ensuring that the complainant receives a coordinated response to the complaint.”

20. How did we get here? We’ve been trying for quite a while
And then in 2007……….. it’s time to collaborate
But did we really?
Two investigators
Two IT systems
Two investigation processes
Two decision styles
Four Directors, Two Deputy Ombudsmen and Four Ombudsmen
Three years to get to the end

21. A better way……. A complainant centred approach
One team, one investigator, one manager
One IT system
One set of standards
One decision style
Joined up and consistent thinking on mal and inj
80% of decisions in under one year
So there had to be a better way, this is where we have got to and we think it works, but we are always looking to improve and learn
We’re really beginning to be joined up.
One team, one investigator, one approach, one decision statement written in a consistent style, rather than two different styles put together on one piece of paper.
We’re consistent in how we approach mal and inj, and since 2015 when the team was first formed, 80% of investigations have been completed in one year.

22. Common themes S117 aftercare Continuing Health Care SEN and EHCP
Some of the common subjects won’t be surprising. These are often the types of services or situations that need health and social care bodies to work closely together.
One overarching theme we do see is where the ‘joined up’ bit hasn’t been fully developed - that’s often where things fall down. Problems with staff knowing who is responsible for what elements; disagreements between organisations about who is responsible for what – and then situations drift…. With the service user left in limbo. One of the first things we have to figure out is who the bodies in jurisdiction are – who should be responsible for what is being complained about. It can get very difficult especially if we’re having to look at things from a while back, or where the service user has moved.
We also see a lack of ‘joined up-ness’ when responding to complaints. Organisations should be mindful of the need to comply with the local authority social services and national health service complaints (England) regulations I think it is great that here today there are such a mix of organisations represented – both health and council
Safeguarding
Hospital discharge

23. A few figures…..
We assessed complaints from 260 people in 17/18. They had complaints against 540 organisations.
We completed 123 investigations. These involved 307 bodies.
We upheld, in full or part, 51% of the complaints we investigated in full.
We actually investigate over 70% of JW cases that come to us.

24. sharing
Title slide only 6
our learning

25. 98% We publish (almost) all our decisions on our website:
.org.uk /decisions
98%
Are you aware that we publish decision statements?
Have you looked at the searchable database on our website?
Is it helpful?
of responding councils agree
our decisions have an impact on local
SERVICE IMPROVEMENT

26. Publications February 2017 Parking and Traffic Penalties March 2017
School Transport
July 2017
Local Government Complaint Statistics
July 2017
Publications
Mental Capacity and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
August 2017
Refuse and Recycling
These are the publications in 2017.
So far in 2018 we have produced guidance for practitioners on Funded Nursing Care payments, and a Focus Report on complaints about council support and advice about special guardians. Our annual review of complaints, annual letters and stats came out in July. And most recently, we’ve issued guidance on recording decisions for planners. Our annual review of ASC complaints will come out later this autumn/winter.
Are there other topics that you think we should be focusing on?
October 2017
Education, Health and Care Plans
November 2017
Annual Review of Adult Social Care Complaints
December 2017
Bed & breakfast accommodation for homeless families

27. TRAINING EXPERIENCED INVESTIGATORS
provided in effective complaint handling:
General
Adult social care
Children’s social care
Planning
Programmes have been updated to include new material and case studies. Non profit
E learning module available on our learning resources webpage:
Those who attend the training report a 96% increase in confidence in complaint handling
We receive lots of positive comments particularly about the quality and knowledge of the trainers; they know their subject areas and understand the complexities and challenges of dealing with complaints and complainants
We run also run two different courses for independent care providers (Part 3A) – a half-day course for frontline staff and a full-day for managers who investigate complaints.
We consider ad hoc requests for attendance at regional complaints managers meetings etc and if possible will send a representative. ETRC role and benefits.
Councillor course with LGA
all courses delivered by our
EXPERIENCED
INVESTIGATORS

28. Online resources: Guidance: manual for councils complaints procedures
good practice
managing unreasonable complainant behaviour
scrutiny questions
combined authorities

29. And information about…
Our performance
How we work
Press releases

30. Information for providers…
…that could also be useful for you:
template complaints procedures
template letters
guidance on decision letter writing and making apologies

31. www.lgo.org.uk/learning-resources Our Learning Resource centre:
eLearning course
links to useful reports and external resources
complaints-handling course for councillors
training course resources

32. Title slide only
Common situations 7

33. We see: increased mental health issues and the impact they can have
increased expectations from complainants
reduced resources to deal with complaints
complainants trying to circumvent the complaints procedure

34. Troubleshooting…
How can this problem, or its effects on an investigation, be overcome?
Can you prevent the same thing from happening again?

35. Any questions