Complaints about local services in the North West are among a record national total released today by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, as new data reveals it experienced a 33 per cent rise in complaints about English councils in 2025-26.
The Ombudsman's review of local government complaints reveals a sharp rise in its national caseload, with 27,625 complaints received in 2025-26, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year and the sharpest rise in more than a decade. This is more than double the previous year's increase and covers rises in complaints across every service area – from housing and adult social care to special educational needs and children's services.
In the North West:
11% of complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman were from this region.
The 2,910 complaints received equated to 37.6 complaints per 100,000 residents, below the average across all regions of 46.1.
33% of complaints and enquiries received were about Children and Education, above the average for all regions of 29%. However, the 12.3 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents in this category remained below the average of 13.2 for all regions.
15% of complaints and enquiries received were about Adult Care Services. This was above the average for all regions of 13%. The 5.5 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents stood just below the average of 5.8 for all regions.
Just 11% of complaints and enquiries received were about Housing, well below the average of 20% for all regions. The 4.1 complaints and enquiries received per 100,000 residents in this category stood well below the average of 9.0 for all the regions.
The overall uphold rate for the region stood at 84%, just below the average of 86% for all regions.
A total of 356 upheld decisions equated to 4.6 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents, well below the average of 6.3 for all regions.
The majority of complaints made to the local government ombudsman against Westmorland and Furness Council were about highways and transport related issues, closely followed by complaints about education and children’s services and benefits and tax including council tax.
The local government ombudsman upheld a 100% of the complaints it considered against Westmorland and Furness Council with the average rate of cases upheld against similar authorities of 85%.
Across the country, 99.9 per cent of councils complied with the Ombudsman's recommendations to put things right when it found fault. There was also a 20 per cent increase in cases where the Ombudsman decided councils had already resolved complaints properly through their own processes before they were brought to the Ombudsman.
Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:
"Behind every complaint we receive is a person who felt they had nowhere else to turn: a parent trying to get the right support for their child at school, an older person struggling to access the care they need, or a family facing the very real prospect of homelessness.
"The sheer number of people coming to us this year tells us something important: increasingly residents feel they are not getting the help they are entitled to from their local council.
"Councils are under real pressure, and we recognise that. But everyone deserves to have their complaint heard fairly and the best councils use that learning to make a difference for residents.
"When we do investigate and find real problems, we ask councils to make practical improvements to their services, so that other people don't face the same issues in future and it is encouraging that councils overwhelmingly do carry out those improvements."
The full report, along with data for each local authority in England, is available at www.lgo.org.uk/annualreview.
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
