Urgent action to deal with councillors’ concerns

Dudley Council is taking urgent action to improve how it responds to concerns from councillors raised as casework.

Elected members of the authority can bring issues concerning residents or other matters to the attention of council officers by creating cases in an online portal.

Dudley’s Labour group leader, Cllr Shaukat Ali, said casework is being acknowledged late and then being given a standard 40-day response time, which could leave residents waiting months for answers or action to deal with a problem.

Cllr Ali said: “Residents deserve better. Councillors are elected to deal with issues promptly, yet we are being hampered by a system that is no longer functioning.

“There is clearly an underlying issue that must be fixed urgently. Residents need confidence that when they raise concerns – whether about housing, fly-tipping, potholes or community safety – their councillors can get answers and secure action. Right now, that confidence is being undermined.”

During the 2025/26 financial year, a total of 550 cases were raised by councillors and 419 (or 76.2 percent) were closed, leaving nearly a quarter without resolution.

Councillor Ed Lawrence, Dudley cabinet member for transformation, said: “We recognise the frustration some councillors and residents have experienced and are taking urgent responsive action to improve the way casework is handled and speed up the process.

“A dedicated recovery team has been established and is working through outstanding enquiries whilst at the same time we are strengthening the underlying processes to improve how quickly cases are responded to and resolved across the council.

“Councillors have been kept informed throughout this work and we absolutely recognise the importance of timely responses in supporting their residents.

“This is a key part of our wider improvement programme to deliver a more responsive and reliable service for residents.

“Our focus is absolutely clear: to resolve outstanding cases, improve performance, ensure residents receive the timely responses they expect and put in place a service that residents and councillors can have confidence in.”