London Borough of Croydon
Complaint overview
Between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, we dealt with 218 complaints. Of these, 113 were not for us or not ready for us to investigate. We assessed and closed 69 complaints. We investigated 36 complaints.
More about this data
Complaints dealt with – the total number of complaints and enquiries considered. It is not appropriate to investigate all of them.
Not for us – includes complaints brought to us before the council was given chance to consider it, or the complainant came to the wrong Ombudsman.
Assessed and closed – includes complaints where the law says we’re not allowed to investigate, or it would be a poor use of public funds if we did.
Investigated – we completed an investigation and made a decision on whether we found fault, or no fault.
Complaints upheld – we completed an investigation and found evidence of fault, or the organisation provided a suitable remedy early on.
Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council – the council upheld the complaint and we agreed with how it offered to put things right.
Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations – not complying with our recommendations is rare. A council with a compliance rate below 100% should scrutinise the complaints where it failed to comply and identify any learning.
Average performance rates – we compare the annual statistics of similar types of councils to work out an average level of performance. We do this for County Councils, District Councils, Metropolitan Boroughs, Unitary Councils, and London Boroughs.
For more information on understanding our statistics see Interpreting our complaints data.
Complaints dealt with
Not for us
Assessed and closed
Investigated
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Complaints upheld
We investigated 36 complaints and upheld 32.
89% of complaints we investigated were upheld.
This compares to an average of 84% in similar authorities.
View upheld decisionsAdjusted for London Borough of Croydon's population, this is 8 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.
The average for authorities of this type is
9.1 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents. -
Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council
In 4 out of 32 upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.
13% satisfactory remedy rate.
This compares to an average of 12% in similar authorities.
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Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations
We recorded compliance outcomes in 23 cases.
In 23 cases we were satisfied with the actions taken.100% compliance rate with recommendations.
This compares to an average of 100% in similar authorities.
Annual letters
We write to councils each year to give a summary of the complaint statistics we record about them,
and their performance in responding to our investigations.
Reports
The Ombudsman has published the following reports against London Borough of Croydon
Find out more about reports
We issue reports on certain investigations, particularly where there is a wider public interest to do so. Common reasons for reports are significant injustice, systemic issues, major learning points and non-compliance with our recommendations. Issuing reports is one way we help to ensure councils are accountable to local people and highlighting the learning from complaints helps to improve services for everybody. Reports are published for 10 years.
Homeless Croydon man left to sleep on the streets because council did not do enough to help
A Croydon man with mental health difficulties was left to sleep on the streets despite asking the council for help, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Croydon woman’s back broken by home-help device when council withdrew care funding
A Croydon woman fractured her spine using a bed turning aid the NHS installed. The council thought this could replace paid care workers for overnight care, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Child at risk of gang violence because of council failings
A four-year-old child was placed at risk of gang violence because Croydon council did not do enough to check on them and their mother when their uncle was released from prison and allowed to live with them, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Croydon council fails to provide respite for disabled teen’s mum
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised London Borough of Croydon for failing to provide respite care for the mother of a disabled teenager because it would cost too much.
Vulnerable South London woman failed by organisations that should have helped
A vulnerable young woman trying to overcome severe mental health problems has been put at significant risk of self-harm, after the organisations which should have looked after her failed multiple times to provide specialist aftercare services.
Croydon council to review how it looks after overcrowded families following Ombudsman report
London Borough of Croydon has agreed to review its services to homeless families in temporary accommodation, after a mother had her complaint upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Council’s failure to pay agreed grant leaves family living on building site
A Croydon family was left to live on a building site for nearly two years after their local council failed to pay an agreed grant on time, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Croydon man not supported properly when he moved to new home
London Borough of Croydon did not do enough to support a man with Autism, and his mother who looked after him, an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Councils urged to learn from Ombudsman investigation into child abuse complaint
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is urging councils to place children at the centre of decision making in cross border child protection cases, after a suicidal teenager was left without appropriate support when she reported serious sexual abuse.
Council ignores medical evidence when deciding man’s housing application
Croydon council failed to take into account a man’s life-threatening health conditions – despite receiving letters from his specialists – when it decided the type of homes he could apply for, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
London council leaves family in limbo without appropriate support
A young woman with life-limiting conditions has been unable to take part in some of her favourite activities for more than a year because London Borough of Croydon failed to support her and her father properly, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.
Grandmother left without respite for two years by London Borough of Croydon
A grandmother who was ‘stretched beyond maximum capacity’ after Croydon Children’s Services left her to look after her disabled grandson for two years without any respite, has had her complaints upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Service improvements
The Council has agreed to make the following improvements to its services following an Ombudsman investigation.
Find out more about service improvements
When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.
The latest 10 cases are listed below – click ‘view all’ to find all service improvements.
Case reference: 24 021 812
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- Ensure the Council has a process in place to monitor responses from schools following reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans, to ensure review reports are provided to the Council within the prescribed timeframe
Case reference: 24 020 730
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Transition from childrens services
- The Council has agreed to review its procedures for transition planning for young people approaching 18. The review should focus on how staff will ensure assessments take place early enough so there are no gaps in provision, and an adult care package is in place for when the young person turns 18.
Case reference: 24 018 050
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will identify the issues that led to the failure to arrange Occupational Therapy provision for a child in line with their Education, Health and Care Plan and report back to us on the steps it will take to avoid similar issues from happening in future.
Case reference: 24 017 787
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will review its processes to consider what changes or action it needs to ensure that where a child with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan is not attending school that it has systems in place to secure the provision in the Plan as far as possible outside the school setting.
- The Council will remind relevant staff that where it asks another organisation to arrange and secure provision in an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan that the Council remains liable and therefore it should carry out sufficient oversight of that organisation.
Case reference: 24 014 650
Category: Environment and regulation
Sub Category: Refuse and recycling
- The Council will issue a staff briefing to remind relevant staff of the importance of record-keeping when monitoring collections. The Council should ensure clear records are kept of any monitoring it carries out, so it can evidence these actions in future if needed. This will help to ensure proper oversight of collections monitoring to prevent similar failings in future.
- The Council will issue a staff briefing to remind relevant staff of the importance of appropriately escalating and responding to complaints where the issues complained of persist. This will help to ensure service users receive appropriate and timely responses to their complaint.
- The Council will send us evidence of an investigation it says it is carrying out about the failure to keep records of the monitoring that was carried out in this case, and the outcome of the investigation. This will help to ensure the Council is considering the issues as it says it is, and putting in place actions to prevent similar failings in future.
Case reference: 24 012 078
Category: Environment and regulation
Sub Category: Refuse and recycling
- The Council will issue letters to residents who used its clinical waste service to dispose of their stoma bags before April 2025 to clarify that as of April, they can dispose of the bags in general waste.
- The Council will update its website on bins and recycling to remove stoma bags from the list of infectious or hazardous waste.
Case reference: 24 011 655
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Direct payments
- The Council will:a) remind staff dealing with complaints about addressing all substantive complaints;
- b) remind relevant staff through a staff circular or team meetings about when to offer carer’s assessments and ensuring requests are followed through.
Case reference: 24 010 129
Category: Education
Sub Category: Alternative provision
- Provide guidance to staff to consider any action required under the Council’s statutory duties when it becomes aware of non-attendance at schools, with reference to the Ombudsman's Focus Report ‘Out of school, out of sight?’ published in July 2022 and to record all actions, communication and decision making as part of this consideration.
Case reference: 24 009 654
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Assessment and care plan
- The Council has agreed to take action to ensure: carer’s assessments are carried out in a transparent way; people are given an opportunity to correct any errors with their assessment; and any disputes over a person’s needs are addressed in the assessment.
Case reference: 24 009 003
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Charging
- The Council agreed to review its policy and practices around its use of approval panels for packages of social care. The review will:be undertaken by a senior Council officer;ensure the Council's policy, panel terms of reference and practices comply with the law and statutory guidance, including an emphasis on individual wellbeing and person-centred care planning, rather than financial considerations; andshare its report and any recommendations with the responsible elected member and/or scrutiny panel.
- The Council agreed to arrange training for all relevant adult social care staff (including managers) on the principles of person-centred care planning, offering choice ofc are home placements and the requirements for third-party top-ups.
Last updated: 4 April 2015