Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Complaint overview
Between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, we dealt with 69 complaints. Of these, 19 were not for us or not ready for us to investigate. We assessed and closed 31 complaints. We investigated 19 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 19 complaints and upheld 14.
74% of complaints we investigated were upheld.
This compares to an average of 81% in similar authorities.
View upheld decisionsAdjusted for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council's population, this is 4.7 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.
The average for authorities of this type is
4.7 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents. -
Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council
In 2 out of 14 upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.
14% satisfactory remedy rate.
This compares to an average of 13% in similar authorities.
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Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations
We recorded compliance outcomes in 14 cases.
In 14 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 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
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.
Residents in Stockport Town Centre incorrectly declined parking permits by council
Residents in new-build properties in Stockport town centre should be eligible for parking permits after an Ombudsman investigation found the council was unfairly declining them.
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: 24 007 183
Category: Education
Sub Category: School admissions
- By training or other means, remind appeal panels and clerks that the panel must satisfy itself that the school has made its case for prejudice when considering stage one of an appeal and that reasons for its decision must be recorded in the clerk’s notes.
Case reference: 24 003 984
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- the Council will remind relevant staff of the need to secure the provision in an Education, Health and Care Plan until such time as the plan is legally ceased.
- clarify arrangements for appeals against the refusal of a personal budget.
Case reference: 24 003 646
Category: Housing
Sub Category: Homelessness
- Implement a process of recording the rationale for assessments of ‘housing needs’ points under its allocations policy and include a summary of that rationale in decision letters to applicants.
Case reference: 24 003 408
Category: Education
Sub Category: School admissions
- The Council agreed to remind all panel members and clerks of the need for the panel to properly consider submissions made.
- The Council agreed to remind all clerks of the need for decision letters to give clear reasons for the panel’s decision which explain how and why issues of facts or law raised during the hearing were decided.
Case reference: 24 001 504
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to remind relevant council officers of the importance of keeping parents updated during the Education, Health, and Care Plan process, particularly in situations where statutory timescales are not met.
Case reference: 23 009 985
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Residential care
- The Council will direct a local adult social care provider not to issue private contracts to residents or relatives whose care it commissions.
- The Council will review procedures for triaging referrals for assessments to ensure it meets the legal timeframes in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
Case reference: 23 008 901
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will send us an action plan setting out how it will ensure similar delays do not happen when finalising EHC plans in future.
Case reference: 23 001 904
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Transport
- The Council introduced a new blue badge application process which included training for its staff.
Case reference: 23 001 186
Category: Planning
Sub Category: Other
- The Council has agreed to share the findings of our investigation with relevant officers and identify wider points of learning.
Last updated: 4 April 2015