South West residents made more complaints about planning matters than any other region in England in 2023-24, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has reported.

This information was revealed following the Ombudsman's annual release of statistics for all local authorities in England.

Planning and development saw 4.3 complaints per 100,000 residents, accounting for 14 per cent of all made in the region.

The South West led nationally in this category topping the South East's 3.7 per 100,000 residents and comfortably surpassing the national average of three.

According to the data, 10.3 per cent of all complaints and enquiries received came from the region, amounting to a total of 1,795.

This equates to 31.1 complaints per 100,000 residents, the second highest of all regions, behind only London.

The most common category for complaints in the region was children and education which accounted for 31 per cent. This is above the average for all regions which is at 27 per cent.

With 9.6 complaints per 100,000 residents, the South West had the second highest number of complaints in this category, behind only the South East.

Only 2.6 cases per 100,000 residents were about housing, ranking third lowest among regions.

The overall uphold rate for the region stood at 81 per cent, above the average of 80 per cent for all regions.

For children and education, the uphold rate was 89 per cent, and a total of 391 upheld decisions equated to 6.8 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents, placing second after London.

Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "On a national level, what we’re seeing in the majority of cases isn’t a lack of care or an inability to take responsibility for what has gone wrong, but a sector struggling to cope.

"Almost all councils want to comply with our recommendations, accept responsibility when things go wrong, and provide good services to residents.

"But all too often resources and finances prevent them from doing so as swiftly as they should.

“However, there are a small number of councils that seem unwilling to respond to our investigations. I urge those few councils that do not engage fully in the process to get on board."

For the first time nationally, the Ombudsman is having to report its concerns about the way councils are failing to comply with the recommendations it makes in good time, with more than one in five complaints being remedied late.