Bracknell council pays £7,950 in LGSO payouts
The largest payout was £3,000 to a mum who accused the council of failing to provide adequate alternative education provision for her child
Bracknell council has paid nearly £8,000 to parents and other people who have complained about the services it provides.
Local authorities have a range of responsibilities, which include organising education support and tackling homelessness.
If a person feels unsatisfied with the service provided, they can follow a statutory complaints procedure.
However, if a person still feels aggrieved and unsatisfied with the outcomes of the complaints process, they can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate their case.
The ombudsman has the power to recommend that councils pay those _ in recognition of faults and injustices caused.
Of the complaints investigated by the ombudsman against Bracknell Forest Council in 2024/25, all 11 were upheld.
In a majority of these cases, the council made symbolic payments to the complainants.
The amount spent on payments to claimants has now been revealed following a question asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The council paid a total of £7,950 to complainants in 2024/25.
The largest payout was £3,000 to a mum who accused the council of failing to provide adequate alternative education provision for her child.
The council agreed to pay £2,500 to the mum for the benefit of her child for the missed special education needs provision and £500 for the distress caused.
Another mum received a total of £2,315 after complaining to the ombudsman.
Of that, £1,915 was paid directly to the mum to spend on her son’s educational benefit, and £400 in recognition of the stress and delays the family faced.
In a more recent case, a mum was paid a total of £950 following an ombudsman investigation into the handling of her son’s tuition.
The payment included £450 to reimburse her for private tuition she paid for, £400 to recognise the avoidable distress and frustration the council had caused in failing to find a computer science tutor for him, and £100 to recognise the distress that the delay in handling the complaint had caused.
Other parents who made complaints about education arrangements received payments of £250-£300 in recognition of the injustices caused.
Kevin Gibbs, the council’s executive director for communities, said: “The council takes all Ombudsman findings seriously and always seeks to learn from them.
“The total remedy amount of £7,950 was paid between April 2024 to March 2025.
“This reflects a small number of cases, but we know that each one represents a resident who felt something could have been done better.
“While our figures remain low compared to similar councils, we continue to use each case as an opportunity to improve how we deliver our services.”
It was also noted that the council received among the sixth lowest number of complaints for a council of its size in the country.
A report into these ombudsman investigations was presented to the council’s overview and scrutiny commission meeting on October 16.