Complaints to Lincolnshire County Council surged by more than a quarter, with a focus on the state of the county’s highways, as the country came out of lockdown and began its COVID-19 recovery.
Data before the authority’s Audit Committee next Monday showed that in 2021/22 the council had 1,678 contacts from the public expressing dissatisfaction – an increase of 26%.
The Corporate and Statutory Complaints Annual Report showed that of those, 1,231 went into the formal complaints process – a rise of 67% – with the rest being resolved through early resolution.
“As restrictions resulting from the pandemic have been eased, services are seeing a return in most areas to pre-pandemic delivery levels,” said the report.
“This has had its own challenges. […] As a result of the figures, and as mentioned earlier in this report, it is vital that a renewed focus be placed on early resolution of concerns.”
A chart showing a comparison of the overall complaints. | Image: LCC
According to the documents, 45% of complaints were either fully or partially upheld.
The area with the highest number of complaints was the council’s Highways and Transport department which saw a 179% increase in formal complaints.
The authority received 848 initial contacts about the county’s roads with 597 going on to enter the formal complaints process.
49% of those cases were either upheld or partially upheld with the majority of faults being found due to delays in or lack of maintenance, followed by the poor quality of repairs and staff conduct and attitude.
A pie chart showing the breakdown of faults. | Image: LCC
Elsewhere in the report, children’s services reportedly received 257 complaints, of which 195 went into formal complaints – a 3% increase. Around 40% of complaints were upheld with the majority to do with delays or lack of communication.
Household Waste Recycling Centres saw an 8% increase in formal complaints with 192 of the 250 contacts moving forward. Just 36% were upheld, with most to do with staff conduct and attitude and some residual complaints around the old booking system.
Adult Care and Community Wellbeing services saw an 11% increase with 234 contacts received and 188 entering the formal complaints process.
However, it maintained a similar number compared to previous years in terms of informal resolutions of complaints. 44% of complaints were upheld in some form with the majority to do with financial assessments and charge accounts followed by concerns around needs assessments and delays in service.
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Officers are in attendance at Sutcliffe Avenue, Grimsby, after being called to a reported firearms incident yesterday evening (Wednesday 6 July).
Two people were taken to hospital for treatment on their injuries, which are not thought to be life-threatening at this stage. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the incident and our investigations remain ongoing.
Officers were quickly deployed to the area and a cordon remains in place to ensure the safety of those nearby.
Senior Investigating Officer DCI Craig Nicholson said: “I’d like to offer reassurance to members of the public and local residents that we believe this to be an isolated and targeted incident with no wider risk to the public.
“Those living in these areas will see an increased number of officers in the area over the coming days carrying out further enquiries and speaking with residents.
“We understand an incident of this nature will cause distress to the local community, so if you are concerned, please come to speak to one of our officers who will be able to assist you.”
Officers are now appealing for anyone who may be able to assist us with our enquiries who has not yet spoken to us to contact us on 101 quoting log 407 of 6 July.
Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire is currently joint with Bromley as the most polluted place in the UK, according to IQAir.
Both Sutton Bridge and Bromley top the list with an air quality index ranking of 84, which is described as ‘moderate’.
The main pollutant is described as PM2.5 Particulate Matter (PM) is a variety of compounds and materials that are not gas, some of which can be toxic and have severe impacts on health. PM2.5 is the measure of fractions of PM where particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.
A small proportion of PM is made up of natural sources like pollen and sea spray, some is transported from other countries. Around half is made up of sources like domestic wood burning, tyre and brake wear from vehicles.
By the time of publication, in Sutton Bridge the concentration was currently 5.6 times the World Health Organisation annual air quality guideline value.
This drastically affects the quality of life for people with respiratory disease and increases the chance of asthma episodes.
See the live listicle of the most polluted cities and towns in the UK right now, which continues to be updated.
Asthma + Lung UK have warned this summer we will see a ‘toxic cocktail’ of heat, storms and pollen which will put millions of people with respiratory diseases, which affect roughly 20% of people in the UK, even more at risk.
Part of the reason that so many suffer is because of the one-size-fits-all approach to treatment for these conditions is not always the most appropriate treatment route.
The most polluted places in the UK that need to watch out for the triple threat (as of 11.25am on July 7). | Photo: IQAir
Sarah Woolnough, Asthma + Lung UK’s CEO, said: “Respiratory disease is the third biggest cause of death in the UK and impacts the lives of hundreds of millions of children and adults across the world.
“The respiratory community is united on the need for greater investment in research that can transform our understanding of these complex diseases and drive the development of new treatments, and ultimately cures.”
By the time of publication, in Sutton Bridge the concentration was currently 5.6 times the World Health Organisation annual air quality guideline value. | Photo: IQAir
The CEO, as well as Professor Maria Belvisi, Head of Respiratory Disease at AstraZeneca, said: “The challenge facing treatment for respiratory diseases is radically improving the lives of millions of people around the world. This demands that we transform our understanding of respiratory disease.
“There are approximately 545 million people with a respiratory disease globally. Diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis have seen significant scientific advances, with research digging deep into the biology of these complex, chronic conditions.
“Healthcare systems are committing to improve outcomes for patients, however, there is still much to be done. Treatment for respiratory disease remains largely focused on symptom control with very little data collected from patients to understand their individual biology and disease progression.”
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