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Sharp fall in number of complaints to Perth and Kinross Council upheld by watchdog

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The number of complaints made towards Perth and Kinross Council upheld by a public watchdog fell by more than half last year.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) upheld six complaints made against the local authority in 2014/15, down from 15 the previous year.

A total of 70 complaints were made, with 32 not upheld and a further 32 closed when the SPSO concluded they could not be taken forward.

Among those upheld by the SPSO include a failure to adequately investigate and respond to complaints about a playground incident involving a person’s son, for which the council had to apologise.

They were also adjudged to have failed to reasonably assess the risk of doorstep cash payments, which resulted in the council discussing with suppliers the possibility of obtaining receipts for all cash and cheque transactions.

The SPSO is still investigating two cases which were started in 2014/15. To date, these cases have been in progress for 182 and 230 working days.

Council complaints and governance officer Pamela Dickson said: “There is no pattern or common factor arising from the upheld complaints which would indicate any change in practice is required, other than continuing to try to improve the overall quality of the council’s complaints handling and responses.”

In 2014/15, the SPSO received 28% fewer complaints about Perth and Kinross Council than the previous year, compared to an overall increase in all local authority complaints of 7%.

Three areas social work, environmental health and cleansing, and finance show figures lower than the national averages.

However, a further three areas planning, housing, and education were higher than the national figures.

The SPSO received 10 complaints about the council relating to planning issues, down from 20 the previous year.

A total of 2,062 planning applications and 363 objections to these applications were received during 2014/15.

Mrs Dickson said: “The information about the SPSO findings provides an opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of the council’s service delivery and complaints handling.

“The SPSO provides an independent complaints service for the public and, as such, will always receive some complaints about the council.”