Dorset Council was the subject of more than 100 complaints and enquiries to the ombudsman about its actions last year, new figures show.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is responsible for investigating wrongdoing in local public services.

If it finds that the council has acted in an unfair or unjust way, the ombudsman will offer recommendations on how to make things right.

According to figures from the body, there were 121 complaints or enquiries made about Dorset Council in the year to March – up from 69 the year before.

After investigation, the ombudsman found the council to have acted unjustly on 20 occasions last year.

The most common reason for coming to the ombudsman in Dorset was for issues related to education and children's services, with 38 complaints or enquiries.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "One complaint can have immense power to change things for the better.

“The vast majority of councils agree to the recommendations we make and see them as common-sense ways of providing better services for people in their area."

Across England, councils were found to have acted unjustly on 2,678 occasions, a 27% increase on 2,104 the year before.

He said that while councils act on nearly every recommendation they are given, uptake can be slow, with one in five failing to take them on within the timeframe set out by the Ombudsman.

Healthwatch England, a health and social care champion, said they were particularly concerned about the national rise in complaints about adult social care, suggesting that financial pressures may be to blame.

Jacob Lant, the charity's head of policy, said “At the heart of every one of these complaints is someone who relies on social care to help them live their lives, and by speaking up these people and their carers have tried to send a message about how services are not meeting their needs."

The number of issues raised about the sector rose from 1,670 in 2020-21 to 2,139 in the year to March – including 21 in Dorset.

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: “The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is independent of the council and can investigate when a resident is dissatisfied with our response to a complaint.

"If one of the Ombudsman’s investigators decides that the council is at fault they will recommend what we should do to put things right, perhaps by giving an apology and by agreeing to review a decision.

"We have a positive relationship with the Ombudsman and because we value his independence we act upon his recommendations and learn from them. This happened on 20 occasions last year and in each case we accepted and acted upon the Ombudsman’s recommendations.

“In serious cases, where the Ombudsman concludes that fault by a council has caused significant injustice, he can issue a public interest report and as well as acting to put things right councils are required to publicise such cases in local newspapers.”