CARLISLE City Council was the subject of almost a dozen complaints and enquiries to the ombudsman about its actions last year, new figures show.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is responsible for investigating wrongdoing in local public services.

If it finds that the council has acted in an unfair or unjust way, the ombudsman will offer recommendations on how to make things right.

According to figures from the body, there were 11 complaints or enquiries made about Carlisle City Council in the year to March – up from six the year before.

But after investigation, the ombudsman found the council to have acted unjustly on one occasion last year.

Michael King, local government and social care ombudsman, said: "One complaint can have immense power to change things for the better.

“The vast majority of councils agree to the recommendations we make and see them as common-sense ways of providing better services for people in their area."

The most common reason for coming to the ombudsman in Carlisle was for issues related to environmental services, with five complaints or enquiries.

There were four complaints over planning and development and one each for highways and transport and corporate or other enquiries.

Carlisle City Council had some of the lowest figures of complaints in the country, placing joint 12th lowest in the overall list for complaints made.

Some council areas, including Northumberland National Park Authority, received no complaints, whilst the worst performing areas included Birmingham and Croydon.

A spokesperson for Carlisle City Council said: “Every attempt is made to provide the best services we can to our residents and businesses.”

“Any complaints are taken extremely seriously, and we aim to remedy them as quickly as we can.”

“Very few complaints progress to the Ombudsman and our figures are amongst the lowest in the country.”

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