Why have you sent this complaint to us?

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has powers to deal with complaints made by members of the public about a number of different organisations. The majority of complaints we receive are about the actions of local councils and independent care providers. However we also deal with complaints about certain other organisations providing public services including:

• Combined authorities and Combined county authorities
• Fire and rescue authorities (and mayors responsible for fire and rescue as part of their functions)
• Police and Crime Commissioners and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (but not about the investigation or prevention of crime)
• The Greater London Authority
• National park authorities, including the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority
• School admission and exclusion appeal panels
• Joint boards of local authorities
• Internal drainage boards
• Sea fisheries authorities
• London TravelWatch (the London transport users committee)
• Transport for London
• A Mayoral development corporation
• Urban development corporations
• The Homes and Communities Agency (planning matters only)
• The Environment Agency (flood defence and land drainage matters only)

The full list or organisations we may investigate is set out in section 25 of the Local Government Act 1974.

The law says that, before investigating a complaint, the LGSCO must be sure the organisation knows about the complaint and has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate and reply to it. Otherwise a complaint to the LGSCO is premature and we may refer it back to the organisation to deal with in the first instance.

The law does allow us to investigate some complaints without giving the organisation the opportunity to fully respond to the complaint first. However this is only where we decide there are good reasons to do so.

How and when should we refer complainants to the Ombudsman?

We generally expect a complainant to go through all stages of an organisation’s complaints process.  If their complaint is still not resolved, or they have not had a response within a reasonable time, they can come to us.  We think up to 12 weeks is usually a reasonable time for a complaint to pass through all stages of an organisation’s complaints procedure. 

We have published a Complaint Handling Code. We consider the Code to be good practice for organisations we investigate.

The Code sets out the principles of good complaint handling as well as a two stage complaints process. The Code also sets out a recommended process for oversight and scrutiny of performance by senior managers and any governance arrangements within an organisation.

It is important when an organisation has finished dealing with a complaint, it tells the complainant they can bring their complaint to the Ombudsman.  We will ask the complainant for proof that an organisation’s complaints procedure has been completed before we pass the complaint to our Assessment Team. 

You may find the following wording helpful in your policies and ininformation about your complaints procedures for the public as well as in final responses to complaints.

Suggested text for complaints procedures/ information for complainants (e.g. websites, leaflets etc.)

If you have been through all stages of our complaints procedure and are still unhappy, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to consider your complaint.

The Ombudsman investigates complaints in a fair and independent way - it does not take sides. It is a free service.

The Ombudsman expects you to have given us the chance to deal with your complaint, before you contact them. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable time, it may decide to look into your complaint anyway.

About the Ombudsman

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services. It also investigates complaints about all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) for people who self-fund their care. There are some limits on what the Ombudsman can look at.

Contact

Website: www.lgo.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 061 0614

You can also download a version of this wording in Easy Read (pictures and words) format.

Suggested text for final complaint or appeal/review responses

This is our final response to your complaint/ appeal. If you remain unhappy you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Website: https://www.lgo.org.uk/how-to-complain

Telephone: 0300 061 0614

Does every complainant have a right to have their complaint investigated by the Ombudsman?

No. We decide which cases are suitable to pursue based on our jurisdiction, how old the matter is and the initial facts highlighted in the case as part of our Assessment process. We must be satisfied that there appears to be a significant injustice for the complainant which links to the alleged shortcomings in what the organisation has done. As we seek to obtain the maximum impact from our casework, the extent to which any individual complaint raises issues of wider public interest is a major consideration when deciding which cases we investigate.

We use our Assessment Code to decide which cases should be passed on for more detailed investigation.

Who investigates the complaint?

Investigators deal with cases and have delegated powers from the Ombudsman to pursue enquiries and make decisions. 

The investigator establishes what the complaint is about and gathers relevant facts.  Once they have sufficient information to reach a view they will decide if your organisation has acted properly or if there is evidence of maladministration or service failure causing injustice. They know there are two sides to every story. Investigators are always looking for ways to reach a prompt and proportionate remedy where the complaint is justified. Equally a key part of their role is bringing matters to a close where the complaint is not justified.  You will have an opportunity to comment on our ‘draft decision’ before we reach a final decision.

How do you gather the evidence?

Enquiries are usually made by email, and we ask for your response in four weeks. You should let us know promptly if you cannot meet our deadline: you have the investigator’s name and contact details so you can discuss any difficulties providing what we require.

Most organisations are happy to co-operate, but we have the powers of the High Court to obtain evidence if needed. This means you cannot refuse to provide us with information we have requested otherwise we may issue a witness summons. Should you fail to comply with the summons we can apply to court to find you in contempt.

If some evidence you provide is confidential and cannot be shared with others, please tell us. You can send us a redacted copy of the evidence we can share with the complainant. We will also need to see an unredacted copy of evidence for our investigation. Once the investigator is satisfied that they have enough evidence to reach a reliable conclusion they will set out their draft decision and invite the parties to comment.

On rare occasions Investigators may visit you to inspect records and interview the people involved.

How does the LGSCO make decisions?

LGSCO decisions are set out in a decision statement. The complainant’s identity is anonymised. This is first released to the parties concerned as a draft decision, and your comments are invited.

The statement will address the following questions:

• Was there maladministration or service failure?

• Did that cause the injustice claimed?

• If so, what remedy could provide proportionate redress?

• What can be learned from this case for the benefit of others?

The draft decision can be changed if you, or the complainant, have new information or further arguments about the complaint that persuade us to reach a different conclusion. If we make recommendations then we will ask your organisation to agree to these, or explain your reasons for disagreeing.

The final decision will close the case and is issued to the complainant and the organisation at the same time. It will set out the grounds for the decision and our agreed actions for service improvement and remedy – if required. We publish most decisions on our website.

What do we have to do next?

Our final decision will set out any actions you have agreed to carry out at draft decision stage. You should tell us when you have completed these, providing evidence to show you have carried them out. We will check up if you do not get in touch.

If you do not agree to our recommendations at draft decision stage, you need to explain why. We will consider what you say and may issue a revised draft decision, or if we remain satisfied our recommendations are justified, we will consider publishing a public report.

We will explain what this means at the time. In summary a public report requires the organisation to consider our report at a senior decision-making level and publish a statement in the local media explaining our findings and its response.

How long does it take the Ombudsman to resolve a complaint?

We aim to close 75% of complaints made to us within 12 weeks and 85% within 26 weeks. This includes the whole time we have a complaint, from when we first receive it until we finish working on it.

If the complainant is still unhappy – what happens next?

Complainants and organisations can ask for a post decision review if they feel their case was not properly considered. As the LGSCO is a public body, we can be subject of a Judicial Review if the complainant or organisation considers our final decision is legally unsound.

May 2024