Middlesbrough councillors have again voiced frustration over the council’s online cllr gateway, saying persistent delays and inaccurate progress updates are hampering their ability to resolve local problems and, in some cases, leaving them publicly embarrassed.
System errors and unfinished jobs
Concerns were raised at the council’s Audit Committee on 23 July, where members from across the political divide described ongoing faults with the portal used to report issues such as potholes, broken signage, fly-tipping and other environmental hazards within wards.
Labour councillor Jill Ewan told the committee she had used the gateway extensively, submitting roughly 700 reports in total, including more than 400 in the past year. She said some cases logged in 2024 and 2025 remain unresolved.
"The biggest problem is that sometimes we get information that something’s been done, and it hasn’t," said fellow Labour councillor David Branson. "That leaves councillors looking daft."
Cllr Ewan also highlighted how separate departmental responses to a single site can create the appearance of completion when work remains outstanding. She described instances where different teams attended to different types of waste — mattresses, fridges, wood and black bags — and one team would mark the whole case as complete after removing only some items.
Council response and steps taken
Middlesbrough Council chief executive Erik Scollay acknowledged councillors’ frustrations at the committee. He told members the authority had recently recruited two additional “progress checkers” in June to help reduce the backlog of councillor gateway cases.
Mr Scollay said the number of outstanding reports had already fallen significantly and that improvements would continue, but he accepted it may take time for all councillors to observe the change.
- Portal used for reporting a wide range of ward issues: highways, signage, fly-tipping, environmental concerns
- Approximately 700 reports submitted by one frequent user; over 400 in the last year
- Two extra staff appointed in June to act as progress checkers
| Metric | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Reports by Cllr Jill Ewan (total) | ~700 |
| Reports by Cllr Jill Ewan (past year) | >400 |
| New recruits for backlog | 2 progress checkers (June) |
For residents and councillors alike, accurate case status and timely completion are central to trust in local services. The problems described — false completion messages and fragmented team responses — risk not only practical delay but also harm to the credibility of ward councillors who are expected to resolve constituents’ concerns.
As the council works through its backlog, councillors will expect clearer assurances on how the gateway’s case-closure rules are applied and how multi-department jobs are tracked so a case cannot be closed until all elements are genuinely resolved. With the next local elections on the horizon, a visible improvement in performance will be important to both elected members and the communities they represent.
