Ealing & Hounslow both appear in list of most complained about councils

Image above: Hounslow House; Ealing Council Offices

Hounslow 8th and Ealing 5th on list

The London Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow have both made it into a top ten of most comp,ained about English local authorities.

Small claims company Claims.co.uk analysed the data from the Local Government Ombudsman showing the number of complaints from residents and placed LB Hounslow as the 8th most complained about council in the UK, and LB Ealing the 5th most complained about.

Ealing Council received 37 complaints per 10,000 residents between 2016 and 2022. The most complaints were about housing. In Hounslow there were 32.2 complaints per 10,000 people but here the issues most regularly raised were benefit and tax.

Ealing had the lowest percentage of upheld complaints among the top ten. From 2016 to 2022, only 142 complaints were upheld and 93 were not, meaning 60.42% were upheld. In around two fifths of cases, the council was found to have behaved correctly or had already resolved the issue.

Image above: graphic of most complained about councils in England by Claims.co.uk

‘Speak out if you feel that your council has failed to deliver a service’ 

George Patton, who helped prepare the report for claims.co.uk, said:

“Council tax increased by an average of £67 for Band D properties in 2022 amid the cost-of-living squeeze. Because of this tax hike, residents rightly have rising expectations towards their local authorities to provide better services.

“Hence, although taking on your council might seem daunting, it’s vital to know your right as a resident and speak out if you feel that your council has failed to deliver a service.

“Your first step should always be contacting the service provider in question. And if you are not happy with the solution provided, the Local Government Ombudsman will come as a final resort.

“Be sure not to delay and lodge your complaints as soon as possible. Moreover, stay polite throughout the process and provide clear evidence to support your claim as the Local Government Ombudsman’s decision is final—your case won’t be reviewed again unless new evidence comes to light.”

Hounslow and Ealing have not responded to being named on the list.

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