A report detailing complaints about Reading Borough Council has revealed the issues residents were most concerned about.

Figures show the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) received 32 complaints or enquiries about the council in the year to March.

This was down from 46 the year before, though the ombudsman was closed to new complaints between March and June 2020.

“The Council notes that out of 32 complaints or enquiries during the period, two were upheld and one was partially upheld,” said a spokesperson for Reading Borough Council.

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“In these instances, the Council fully accepts the findings of the Ombudsman’s review and the outcome.

“We have apologised to the people involved and followed the guidance to remedy the situation in each instance.

“In addition to following the Ombudsman’s recommendations, our Customer Relations Team is developing a new programme of work to utilise the learning points from customer complaints to improve our processes, enhance customer experience and identify any future staff training needs.”

The highest number of concerns (10) involved highways and transport. There were three cases related to adult social care.

Different data shows five cases deemed to warrant a full investigation by the LGSCO were concluded in 2020-21, with three resulting in a complaint being upheld against the council.

The reasons for the complaints were not provided.

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Education and children's services were the subject of the largest proportion of complaints and enquiries nationally, with more than 2,300 lodged last year.

A further 1,700 related to planning and development while more than 1,600 were about adult social care.

Pandemic-related disruption contributed to a significant drop in complaints and enquiries across England, with 11,800 received – down from 17,000 the year before.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said authorities and care providers had been doing all they could to keep "already severely stretched" services going throughout the pandemic.

He added: “It is right that providers continue to work with the ombudsman in its investigations, to make improvements to their services.

"We also need to apply the lessons learnt from our response to Covid-19 in any future reforms."