Timeliness of responses
Merton Council's children's services faces scrutiny over increased complaints and delayed responses to investigations.
Merton Council's children's services is facing scrutiny in September 2026 over its handling of complaints, with a significant rise in formal complaints and a low rate of timely responses for stage one and stage two investigations. Issues include a lack of progress in ensuring young people know how to complain and an absence of complaints directly from children and young people.
In September 2025, Barking and Dagenham Council reported that it missed its corporate goal of responding to 90% of complaints within the target timeframe, with only 70% addressed. A report to the Audit and Risk Committee said delays were due to high volumes of complaints, member casework, and Freedom of Information requests.
Key facts
- Merton Council logged 44 formal stage 1 complaints in children's services during 2025/26. Source
- Merton Council's children's services has a low rate of timely responses for investigations. Source
- In September 2025, Barking and Dagenham Council responded to 70% of complaints within target. Source
- Barking and Dagenham Council's corporate goal for complaint response timeliness was 90%. Source
- The target timeframe for Stage 1 complaints in Barking and Dagenham is 10 working days. Source
About this summary
This summary was written automatically from our published stories and the council meeting records they draw on. It describes what councils have discussed and decided; it does not take a view on any decision. Each key fact links to the story it comes from. Updated 30 September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Email community@opencouncil.network.