Many measures are already in place and making a difference, with improved response times on complaints and a reduction in the number of complaints upheld overall.
The improvement measures put in place across council departments are detailed as part of our annual 'Complaints, Compliments and Feedback Report' to be discussed by our Cabinet next week (Thursday 15 October 2026).
The report highlights the significant number of contacts from residents we handled every year. This includes around 20,000 calls each month through our contact centre Call Derbyshire, and more than 90,000 highways enquiries annually.
Last year (2025/2026) we received 2,214 complaints, an increase of 18.9% on the previous year.
During the same period residents also recognised the good service they received, with 1,002 compliments being submitted across departments, although this was slightly down from 1,081 the year before.
While the number of complaints increased, the proportion found to be justified fell. In 2025/2026 a total of 21.1% of complaints were upheld or partially upheld, compared with 29.4% in 2024/2025.
Complaint response times also improved overall, with 57.4% of complaints answered within the council’s 28-day target, up from 50.9% the previous year. The Place department, which includes highways, achieved a 99.7% complaint response rate within target timescales during 2025/2026.
The most common reasons for complaints were standard of service, service decisions and communication.
Positive feedback from residents included praise for the care and support provided by social care teams, the positive impact of children's services, the professionalism of Call Derbyshire staff and the commitment of highways teams.
As well as complaints, compliments and feedback, the report also highlights the annual letter from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
The Ombudsman received 203 complaints and enquiries about the council last year, compared with 197 the previous year. Of those, 52 were upheld. The majority related to children's services, particularly SEND and education matters.
All the Ombudsman recommendations were accepted, with all 44 recommendations made during the year complied with.
Our Cabinet Member for Business Services Councillor Stephen Reed said:
"We know residents expect high-quality services from us and when we don't get things right it's important that we listen, learn and improve.
"Unfortunately, as demand continues to rise on all our services we are never going to be in a position where there are no complaints, and it is absolutely right that if residents are unhappy with services they should let us know about it so we can do something about it.
"That’s why we’ve already taken action across the board to improve communication, reduce delays and strengthen services with the aim of improving residents' experiences of dealing with the council, and some of this work is already showing positive results.
"We remain committed to learning from every complaint and making lasting improvements, but we acknowledge there is always more work to do."
In Children’s Services reducing delays, improving communication and strengthening accountability remain key priorities.
Improvement work includes additional staff, more specialist placements and provision, better communication with families and enhanced monitoring of Education, Health and Care Plan performance.
Councillor Reed said:
“We recognise that many of the complaints around our services for children relate to the support we offer for families and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
“Complaints highlight areas where we need to do better and, while we are starting to see improvements in this area, we know there is more to do to ensure families receive the service they deserve.
“Over the past year, we have introduced significant changes, including increasing staffing capacity, strengthening processes, and making changes to reduce delays in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process. We have also focused on improving communication and engagement with children, young people and their families.’’
In Adult Social Care and Health the complaints reflected sustained demand on services and changes to older people's care provision.
Councillor Reed added:
“In adult care the rise in the number of complaints was foreseen and relates to our decision to remodel our in-house care services and close 8 care homes.’’
To improve services the department’s new measures include using learning reviews following upheld complaints, improving information about charging and financial assessments and focusing on earlier resolution of concerns.
The department has already improved complaint response performance, increasing on-time responses from 75% to 89% over the past year.
Services under the Place department received the fewest number of complaints, with those received including highways issues and home-to-school transport.
The department has committed to measures which include improving communication and customer updates.
Our Corporate Services and Transformation department received no complaints for 2025/2026.
If agreed by Cabinet, the annual report will be followed up by a further assurance report within three months to track progress against the range of improvement measures put in place.