Council 'will work on' complaints after £8k payouts

A council director has said lesson have been learned after nearly £8,000 was paid to people who have made complaints.

Over the last year, 11 complaints against Bracknell Forest Council were upheld, with a total of £7,950 being paid out to complainants.

An annual report on local government and social care ombudsman (LGSO) decisions was discussed at a meeting of the council's Labour-run cabinet.

Kevin Gibbs, the council's executive director for communities, said: "We have been working incredibly hard on improving our management of complaints."

In one case the council had to pay out £13,050 after a child missed two years of full-time education, however that complaint, resolved on 26 June, fell outside of the period covered in the report.

"Clearly, SEND is an area where we have a lot of focus," Mr Gibbs said.

"Although there is only 11 complaints, each of those has a story behind it.

"The council always looks to see the impact on those individuals to ensure that the decisions we make are reasonable and have their best interests at heart.

"The fact that in these cases we have not met our own high standards is something that we will work on and have worked on with these individuals."

He added: "In comparison to other unitary authorities, this is a very low number."

The council said it complied with all of the ombudsman's recommendations in each of the cases.

Labour councillor Iksander Jeffries said complaints were on a downward trajectory, with 15 upheld in 2023-2024.

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