Lambeth Council is facing a significant challenge with a nearly 50% surge in complaints and enquiries, impacting its response times across several key areas. The Audit and Risk Committee was informed that the total number of cases handled by the council escalated from 18,260 in the 2024/25 financial year to 27,563 in 2025/26, an increase of over 9,300 cases.
The most pronounced rises were observed in Members' Enquiries, which saw an addition of over 4,200 cases, and Stage 1 complaints, up by more than 3,200. This increased demand has had a clear impact on complaint and enquiry response performance: Stage 1 complaint performance fell from 79% to 69%, Stage 2 complaint performance reduced from 77% to 74%, and Members' Enquiry performance declined from 77% to 72%. The primary root causes for resident dissatisfaction across these categories are identified as delays in action and communication, missed actions, disputes over charges, and concerns regarding service quality.
Housing Management remains the department generating the highest volume of complaints and enquiries. Within this department alone, Stage 1 complaints increased from 2,853 to 4,390, Stage 2 complaints rose from 700 to 1,320, and Members' Enquiries increased from 2,942 to 4,470. Housing Management shows the greatest performance pressure, with reductions across Stage 1 complaints (68% to 47%), Stage 2 complaints (73% to 66%), and Members' Enquiries (72% to 63%). The root causes for dissatisfaction in Housing Management mirror the overall trends: delays, missed actions, communication gaps, disputes around the charges and the concerns around the service quality.
Despite the overall increase in casework, the council maintained a 100% timeliness rate for Ombudsman cases, although the total number of these cases rose significantly from 205 to 317. Compensation awarded through complaints resolution saw a slight decrease overall, from £34,987.28 to £33,096.64. However, compensation directed by the Ombudsman increased from £212,339.26 to £238,713.89, a rise largely attributed to issues within Housing Management. The Ombudsman outcomes increased by 66%, from 94 to 156, largely driven by increases in maladministration-related and severe maladministration-related findings.
While Subject Access Requests (SARs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests experienced performance improvements, with SAR handling increasing from 91% to 95% and FOI performance rising from 62% to 70%, the timeliness of other categories has diminished. The report indicates that the percentage of Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints, as well as Members' Enquiries, handled within the Service Level Agreement (SLA) has reduced. The report does not explicitly define how 'timeliness' is measured for each category or state the specific target timeliness rates, but it does mention the performance figures for these categories.
To address the decline in response times, Lambeth Council is implementing several strategies. These include a review of the Housing complaints service and the Customer Access Service Transformation (CAST) programme, which aims to support the Customer Strategy and improve casework performance and demand management. Appendix 2 of the Public reports pack details tactical improvements implemented since the last committee meeting, such as strengthened damp and mould processes, improved voids checks, better monitoring of overdue repairs, clearer transfer and suitability review arrangements, enhanced safeguarding and escalation processes, and more robust communication and case management protocols.
Beyond these tactical improvements, the council is undertaking more strategic, longer-term activities, including a comprehensive customer service transformation program. A dedicated complaints review within the Housing service has also resulted in its own improvement program. The focus is on analysing casework outcomes to identify areas for tactical improvement, but also on examining customer journeys to reduce repeat contact and dissatisfaction, facilitate earlier learning, and enhance the tracking of service improvement activities.
The full details of the council's performance and improvement plans can be found in the Public reports pack for the Audit and Risk Committee meeting on Thursday 23 July 2026. Public reports pack
