More than 1,000 complaints have been recorded by two local councils, a report has found.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils have published their annual complaints report outlining their performance during the 2023/24 financial year.

The report shows a 25 per cent increase in total complaints, with 1,205 recorded in 2023/24, up from 959 the previous year and 841 in 2021/22 — the majority of these complaints, at 72 per cent, related to housing.

The figures include stage one and two complaints, handled in-house by the councils' officers, and are well above the average sector number for complaints per 1,000 homes.

At the same time, the proportion of complaints across both stages responded to within the timescales set out by the Housing Ombudsman is much lower than the sector average.

On housing, the biggest complaint increases related to delayed work, cases of failure to communicate if work was no longer taking place or additional works being needed, and compliance.

There were 39 complaints relating to homelessness services and registering for a council home, up from 31 in 2022/23, which the report stated were from residents who were dissatisfied with their priority status for them to bid on council homes.

The increase in complaints, the report said, was due to the councils making it easier for residents to log complaints through a digital system launched in 2020, which was still leading to an increase in reports.

Other reasons behind the increase included the housing ombudsman code introduced in 2022 and made statutory last year, which ensured easy access to registering complaints and getting early help, as well as the councils' efforts to make changes to meet the regulator's standards.

The report highlighted a new complaints system launched in June last year alongside a satisfaction survey, the annual complaints report and scrutiny, and a taskforce meeting every quarter as measures meant to reduce the number of complaints.