A COUNCIL is aiming to improve the way it handles public complaints to reduce the number being passed on to the Local Government Ombudsman.

In the past year, 19 protests have been lodged against Teesdale District Council, compared with nine the previous year and four the year before that.

The figures were revealed yesterday in a report by Ombudsman Patricia Thomas, who found maladministration in only two of the 19 cases.

She said: "Complaints against the council rose overall, but these increases are in line with the picture nationally and they do not reflect badly on the council."

Council officials are planning to hold training sessions to teach staff to deal more efficiently with complaints.

Mike Dennis, the council's head of administration, said, "Officers and members have had to spend a great deal of time in the recent past dealing with all the complaints sent to the Ombudsman.

"More staff training on how to deal with protests could be the answer. Hopefully, we might reach a stage where no cases at all are going on to the Ombudsman."

The two findings of maladministration against the council were the first since 1997.

One involved injustice and compensation was paid to the complainant. The other involved no injustice.