Ombudsman calls devolution and reorganisation “once-in-a-generation” chance to fix public services, amid surge in complaints

Ombudsman Amerdeep Clarke described the figures as “concerning” but said ongoing sector reforms – including devolution and local government reorganisation – offer a historic opportunity to fix public services.

The comments came in the watchdog’s annual report on local government complaints, which revealed that the service received 27,625 complaints last year – a 33% increase on the previous year.

The service decided 22,006 complaints, investigated 4,335 complaints, and upheld 3,707 complaints, according to the report.

Complaints regarding benefits and tax, housing, and children's services saw the most growth, with benefits and tax complaints seeing a 67% increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

Housing placed second at 46%, while children's services experienced a 41% rise. Adult care services complaints, meanwhile, increased by 23%.

Clarke said the scale of demand on its services this year "should give every local authority pause for thought".

She said the service experienced its biggest rise in complaints in 10 years, adding: "Last year we saw a 16% increase in the number of complaints we received. This year that figure has more than doubled to 33%. That increase is not concentrated in one area, it is consistent across all services."

Clarke added: "The picture painted by the complaints we deal with is consistent and concerning. In special educational needs services, in housing, and in adult social care, we are seeing the consequences of systems under sustained and serious strain."

However, she said that "much needed and overdue" reforms in adult social care, SEND, and the Government's wider devolution programme represent opportunities to address the sector's problems.

She said: "The once-in-a-generation programme of local government reorganisation and devolution now under way presents a genuine opportunity to redesign services, break down the silos that have frustrated joined-up delivery for decades, and find locally-driven solutions to problems that have persisted through successive waves of national reform.

"New technology, smarter joint commissioning, and integrated approaches to health, care and housing have the potential to make a real difference now, while we wait for the wider benefits of national reform to take effect."

Commenting on local government finances, she warned that poor decisions, delayed action and inadequate services "are not only harmful to residents, they are also costly".

She added: "The cumulative expense of complaints, legal challenges and emergency interventions far exceeds the cost of investment in effective, well-managed services. Getting it right first time is both the right thing to do and, in the long run, the financially prudent course. For local authorities managing significant budget pressures, that is not a secondary consideration."

Clarke, meanwhile, highlighted that the number of complaints in which the Ombudsman was happy with how the council had resolved them rose by 20%.

"This is evidence of increased levels of good practice in complaint handling within the sector and I hope this will continue as local authorities embed our Complaint Handling Code in local practice and policy," she said.

She continued: "I recognise that local authorities are operating in genuinely difficult circumstances, with constrained resources, stretched workforces and rising demand. I do not underestimate the complexity of what is being asked of you. But strong and honest leadership, including a genuine commitment to learning from what goes wrong, makes a measurable difference in both efficient service delivery and improving public trust.

"The problems documented here are serious. But they are not insurmountable. And the opportunity to address them, at pace and at scale, has rarely been greater."

Adam Carey