Hertfordshire County Council has been told to speed-up and improve the quality of its responses to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

According to a letter sent by LGSCO Amerdeep Somal, in 2023/24 around a third of the responses from the county council were "late".

In one instance, says the letter, the council took 45 days to reply – more than DOUBLE the time that had been requested.

And in some instances, it says, responses were "of poor quality" or were "incomplete".

According to the letter, concerns about "late responses" were also raised with the county council last year – when a similar proportion of responses were also said to be late.

And in the letter the LGSCO says it is "disappointing" that they have experienced similar issues this year.

In addition to the delays, the letter points to "instances of poor-quality and incomplete responses" that make it "difficult to progress investigations and increases the likelihood that we need to ask for more information".

And the letter – addressed to interim chief executive Scott Crudgington – asks for action to be taken.

"Once again, we ask you take action to improve your Council's responses to our enquiries; both in terms of timeliness and quality," says the letter, which has been published by the LGSCO.

"It is important we are provided with the information we have asked for promptly, and that, where you encounter delays, you keep us informed."

Following the publication of the letter, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council stressed that the responses required as part of LGSCO investigations need to be thorough.

"The cases that end up being investigated by the LGSCO are usually complex cases, and it's important that we take the time to be thorough in our responses," said the spokesperson for the county council.

"We take on board the LGSCOs comment about needing to keep them informed about any delays and we'll make sure we improve in this area."

Published alongside the letter is data that shows that during 2023/24, 42 complaints that had been investigated by the office of the LGSCO in relation to Hertfordshire County Council (equivalent to 89 per cent) were upheld.