Sheffield Council is late with the majority of its responses to the Ombudsman

The majority of response times last year went past the 20 working days deadline, says Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Although most were received within 25 days, eight were received outside of this period.

Sheffield Council had 143 complaints referred to the Ombudsman in 2019/20 and admits it was often challenging to meet the deadline.

Its complaints team generally gives departments 10 working days to provide background comments and information.

That only leaves 10 working days for the complaints team to then get clarification, further information or evidence and produce a suggested response.

The response letter has to have legal clearance before being formally signed by the chief executive or executive directors and sent to the Ombudsman.

Departments responding to the complaints team late, or not giving enough information, are the main reasons for delay.

The council also warns response times next year will continue to be challenging with home working and IT issues.

Coun Adam Hurst also questioned how the council was dealing with complaints at a lower level.

“Would an organisation that does not have a good reputation with the Ombudsman for being responsive and meeting deadlines be more at risk of getting a finding it doesn’t want?

“If we’re not dealing with Ombudsman inquiries in a timely manner, how are we dealing with the complaints that are leading to those in the first place?

“I worry that if you’re not getting it right at the Ombudsman level, what about all the levels underneath which is what people who use the services are really experiencing.”

Director of Legal and Governance Gillian Duckworth said each Ombudsman case was considered on its merits.

“However, if there is any element of discretion on their part, where there’s perhaps a question mark as to whether it’s the authority or the complainant in the right, our performance could potentially cast doubt on our responsiveness and the way that we act as an organisation.

“I think it is a reputational issue. I’m of the same opinion as Coun Hurst that if we’re struggling to meet the timescales once it’s got to the Ombudsman, then that isn’t a good indication for how we deal with other matters within the organisation.”

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