Agenda item

The Committee was presented with the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Annual Social Care Complaints Report 2025-2026, an annual account which reviewed SBCs handling of complaints related to adult social care over the twelve-month period between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.  The report shared information about complaint themes and the learning taken from those complaints to improve the quality of social care services.

Introduced by the SBC Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing, and supported by the SBC Assistant Director – Procurement & Governance and the SBC Assistant Director / PSW – Adult Social Care, reference was made to an accompanying summary document which highlighted key elements of the main annual report as follows:

·       Overall Position: SBC Adult Social Care continued to operate in a challenging environment, receiving 16,143 requests for support, providing short-term support to 5,395 people, long-term support to 3,450 people, and undertaking over 4,000 reviews during the year.  Despite this scale of activity, only 34 formal complaints were received, a slight reduction from 35 complaints in 2024-2025.

The report demonstrated a positive complaints culture, with complaints viewed as an important source of learning and service improvement rather than solely as a measure of dissatisfaction.  Feedback had led to changes in practice, procedures, training and communication across several service areas.

·       Key Performance Highlights: Data showed that:

o   Complaints reduced slightly from 35 in 2024-2025 to 34 in 2025-2026.

o   Over half of all complaints (56%) were resolved through Early Resolution (where staff made contact with the complainant to resolve an issue) compared with 46% in the previous year.

o   90% of Early Resolution complaints were resolved within the target timescale.

o   No complaints were received regarding commissioned care services during the year, suggesting concerns were generally being resolved locally by providers before escalation.

o   Adult social care complaints considered by the Ombudsman did not require investigation because the Council had already acknowledged fault and implemented remedies.

·       Complaint Themes: The most common complaint theme remained care planning and assessment (10 complaints recorded), with service accessibility and availability remaining unchanged at five complaints.  An increase was noted in safeguarding-related complaints (rising from two to five) – the result of a change in how these were recorded to align with Care Quality Commission (CQC) themes.  However, the report highlighted that learning from these cases had already been used to strengthen practice and improve processes.

·       Complaint Outcomes: Of the 34 complaints received, 19 were resolved through Early Resolution, two were upheld in full, eight were partially upheld, four were not upheld, and one complaint remained active at year-end.  Where fault was identified, remedies included apologies, reassessments, policy and procedural changes, staff guidance, improved communication and, where appropriate, financial redress.

·       Learning and Service Improvement: The annual report evidenced tangible improvements as a result of complaints.  Examples included:

o   Improved guidance and support around Court of Protection processes.

o   Better recording of legal information and appointment of a Deprivation of Liberty champion.

o   Enhanced consultation and communication during DoLS and Court of Protection processes.

o   Strengthened homelessness referral and follow-up procedures.

o   Refresher training and process improvements in deferred payment arrangements.

o   Improved communication with families regarding financial matters and information sharing.

o   Service changes following issues related to safeguarding, hospital discharge planning and advocacy provision.

·       Compliments and Positive Feedback: A new compliments recording process was introduced following feedback from the CQC.  Initial feedback demonstrated a highly positive picture of SBC Adult Social Care, with recurring themes including staff kindness, compassion and empathy; professionalism and expertise; good communication and listening; going above and beyond expectations; building confidence and independence; quick responses and co-ordinated support; making people feel safe and reassured.

·       Ombudsman Performance: The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman responded to 51 complaints and enquiries about the Council during 2025-2026, seven of which progressed to investigation (two related to adult social care).  In both adult social care cases, the Ombudsman decided not to investigate because the Council had already identified the fault, provided an appropriate remedy, and implemented learning to prevent recurrence.  This provided strong external assurance regarding the quality and robustness of the Council's complaint investigations and its willingness to put matters right.

·       Key Priorities for 2026/27: The report identified eight priorities: Strengthen Early Resolution; Improve timeliness and performance monitoring; Further embed learning from complaints; Promote learning from compliments; Continue workforce training and awareness; Enhance the quality and consistency of complaint responses; Strengthen partnership working with health organisations; Maintain oversight and scrutiny arrangements.

·       Conclusion: The 2025-2026 report presented a positive picture of SBC Adult Social Care complaint handling.  Complaint numbers remained low relative to service demand, early resolution rates had improved, several complaint themes had reduced significantly, and there was clear evidence that feedback was driving meaningful service improvements.  The Ombudsman's decision not to investigate the two Adult Social Care complaints further supported confidence in the Council's complaint handling arrangements.  Overall, the report demonstrated a learning culture and a continued commitment to improving outcomes for residents through effective complaints management.

Thanking officers for the information provided, the Committee welcomed the low level of complaints received in relation to SBCs adult social care offer, the evidence of positive partnership-working which was benefitting those accessing services, and the learning which had emanated from complaints received by the Council.  Members also commended the inclusion of compliments within the report, felt the value of the Rosedale Rehabilitation and Assessment Centre had been well recognised, and relayed praise from a local carer who had experienced local reablement provision.

The Committee queried if any issues had been raised around hospital discharge and multi-agency working matters but was informed that neither of these topics had emerged as one of the main complaint themes.

A separate ‘Compliments Received into Adult Social Care’ report was also shared with the Committee which reflected upon a new electronic compliments process that was introduced in October 2025 to systematically record, analyse and learn from the positive feedback received about SBC Adult Social Care services.  The report summarised further progress made and compliments received from 1 April 2026 to date, and an accompanying presentation drew attention to the following:

·       Background: A new system for recording compliments had been implemented, with real-time reporting (including a BI dashboard) developed, and a focus on compliment visibility across the service which helped learning and service improvement.  154 compliments had been recorded (April – September 2026).

·       Key Messages: Strong positive feedback across SBC Adult Social Care, with most compliments relating to direct services (those actually providing the care).  85% of compliments were from people, families and carers, with 15% from professionals.

·       Themes Identified: Emerging themes were in relation to compassion and kindness, person-centred support, professionalism and expertise, trusted relationships, and staff going above and beyond expectations.

·       Impact: Examples were given of quotes praising the impact of the service they had received / experienced.

·       Next Steps: SBC aimed to embed the compliments process, share learning from positive feedback, recognise excellent practice, and celebrate success.

Again, welcoming this focus on compliments, the Committee thanked the whole SBC Adult Social Care team for its hard work and echoed the notion that it was important to praise staff when their efforts had been recognised.  Senior SBC officers noted that all individual staff members who earned a compliment for their work also received a personalised thanks from the SBC Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing and the SBC Assistant Director – Adult Social Care / PSW.  In addition, a letter to the units and direct care services (where an individual staff member was not named) giving thanks and recognising the number of compliments received was sent to services (for sharing on an annual basis) to celebrate success.

Regarding the number of compliments received, Members queried if SBC might not be recording some positive feedback on its offer, and also asked if any data for the 2025-2026 period was available for comparison.  On the latter point, there was no previous statistical information as the Council did not have a system for formally logging compliments (though they were captured informally).  On the former, it was likely that not all praise was being picked up, but, moving forward, SBC was attempting to capture this through its new system.

AGREED that the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Annual Social Care Complaints Report 2025-2026, and the supplementary compliments report and presentation be noted.