The number of complaints made to Lambeth Council has reduced by 11 per cent, the latest figures reveal.

A total of 4,675 complaints were made to the council in 2017/18, compared to 5,255 for the previous year.

Housing management, parking, street services, benefits and council tax made up 66 per cent of all complaints.

Most of these saw a reduction in complaints from the previous year except council tax – which rose by 23 per cent.

But figures fluctuate from year to year, according to Lambeth Council documents.

“Taking into account the overall reduction in complaints as well as reasonable fluctuations that might be expected from one year to the next, there are a few categories where significant increases in complaints have been received compared to 2016/17,” the documents explain.

Half of the complaints made to street services related to refuse collection, with people mostly annoyed about missed bins and bulky waste collection.

Complaints about street services made up 19 per cent of all complaints.

Council tax complaints accounted for 18 per cent of all complaints – rising by 23 per cent from the 2016/2017 – but most of these complaints were not upheld.

“Generally, customers complained about service failures and the application of council policy,” according to the documents.

“Despite the considerable volumes received, 91.5 per cent of all council tax complaints were not upheld which indicates that on the whole the correct decisions were being made.”

Nearly half of all parking complaints were upheld, according to council documents.

“Parking complaints accounted for 11 per cent of all complaints received across the Council,” the documents explain.

“The majority of them concerned the Penalty Charge Appeals process and the actions of civil enforcement officers.

“In terms of outcomes, 48 per cent of all parking complaints were upheld.”

In housing management, 67 complaints were upheld – the highest amount for any of the services.

The rest of the complaints included antisocial behaviour issues, communal and property repairs.

Complaints about benefits saw a 36 per cent reduction, although 11 complaints were upheld.

People were mainly concerned with delays in assessments which accounted for 62 complaints received. But of these, only 14 per cent were upheld.

The number of complaints received by highways increased by 17 per cent, while planning complaints increased by 24 per cent.