The government has been told it could save millions of pounds by reducing the number of complaints made about public services.

Parliament's spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), said in a report on Wednesday that improving the system in which complaints are handled could also produce massive efficiency savings.

With over 1.4 million disputes lodged with the government every year, the "citizen redress" report calculated that a five per cent reduction would save the taxpayer £25m.

Complaints cost £155 each on average, with the total annual cost reaching £510m

A further £198m is spent on legal aid for those making appeals in areas such as immigration and asylum cases.

Poor service

An investigation found that departments do not have enough information on criticisms made of them by their users, hampering efforts to improve efficiency, while practices vary widely between ministries.

Members of the public find it particularly difficult to find the first person to talk to when unhappy with their treatment.

Voters view current procedures as "complex, slow-moving, expensive and time-consuming", auditor general Sir John Bourn concluded.

He recommended that the Department of Constitutional Affairs should take the lead in improving systems, while the Cabinet Office should consider whether a single
point of contact should be created to supply the public with information on complaints.

"Whitehall should convince the public that it is putting their needs and expectations first," Sir John said.

"Better information and greater clarity will not only make it easier for citizens to get any errors or injustices put right but also should make it less likely that such errors are made in the first place.

"A better service for the public that brings significant efficiency savings."