Nearly 80 per cent of complaints against Buckinghamshire Council last year were upheld, data has shown.

The council’s 100 per cent compliance with recommendations and proportion of upheld complaints in the year to March 31, 2024, were average when compared with similar local authorities.

A total 31 decisions were made, based on 39 ‘comprehensive investigations’ – a rate of 5.5 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents, which is slightly higher than average.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is a government regulator that investigates complaints against councils and adult social care providers and provides advice and guidance on good practice.

The watchdog informed Bucks Council of its performance in a letter to the authority’s chief executive Rachael Shimmin.

A chair of the ombudsman said: “I am aware of the difficult financial circumstances and service demands that make continuous improvement a challenging focus for the sector.

“However, we will continue to hold organisations to account through our investigations and recommend proportionate actions to remedy injustice.”

They added that despite financial challenges, the ombudsman had ‘great confidence’ that the council recognised the ‘valuable contribution and insight’ that complaints and their swift resolution offered to improve services for the public.

Ombudsman decisions against the council from the current financial saw the authority apologise for failing a man who was at risk of becoming homeless and make a final payment to compensate a woman whose son with special needs was not supported properly.