Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for complaints submitted to the Housing Ombudsman to be (a) processed and (b) resolved.

The Housing Ombudsman is independent of government.

As its Sponsor Department, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government tracks its progress on delivery in line with Cabinet Office Standards for working in partnership.

The Housing Ombudsman’s Corporate Strategy for 2025-30 sets stretching KPIs (agreed by the Secretary of State) aimed at further reducing casework timescales.

Complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman have increased from 32,126 in 2022-23 to 40,945 in 2023-24. The organisation has grown from an average full time equivalent staff (FTE) of 187 in 2022-23 to 340 FTE in 2023-24. There was a 107% increase in the number of determinations made by the Ombudsman in 2024-24.

The Corporate Strategy sets out how the Ombudsman will continue to meet this demand by further expanding the workforce and continuing to explore new approaches to case investigations.

Work to reduce the number of complaints needing to reach the Service is also ongoing and includes the Ombudsman sharing best practice to help landlords improve their complaint handling. A transformation programme launched at the start of 2025-26 also aims to drive further efficiencies from processes and systems.