We can investigate complaints about adult social care arranged by a council, regardless of who provides the care. This fact sheet deals with complaints about councils or services they arrange. We have a separate fact sheet for complaints about adult care services generally, and one like this for privately arranged services.

I want to complain to the Ombudsman, so why do I need to go to the council?

Before we can investigate a complaint, we must be sure the council knows about it, and has had a reasonable chance to investigate and reply to it. 

What is the council’s complaints procedure?

The law says councils that provide adult social care services must have complaints procedures that follow a certain process. The council should work with you to try and sort out your complaint. These arrangements also require councils to work with other agencies to answer your complaints if they include health care, or care the council has arranged from someone else. 

Where can I get details of how the council deals with complaints?

The best place to look is the council’s website, or you can telephone the council and ask for a copy of its “complaint procedure”. 

We have also published a guide for councils explaining good practice for responding to complaints about adult social care services. 

How long will the council’s procedure take?

The law gives councils up to six months to respond to a complaint about adult social care services. However, most local councils will try to respond much sooner than this. Your local council should have a policy for responding to adult social care complaints that explains how long it might take to respond.

We expect councils to keep you updated on the progress of your complaint and when you can expect a final response. 

I have heard nothing from the council. What should I do?

You should contact the council and ask it to explain what is happening with your complaint. See our top tips for complaining.

What if the council doesn’t progress the complaint in a reasonable time?

If there are long, unexplained delays please let us know. The council should have told you how long it will take to respond and provided you with updates.

Why must I allow the council to put my complaint through the complaints procedures when I know it will not change its decision?

The law says we must give councils a chance to respond to a complaint before we look at it. Councils are also best placed to sort out any problems quickly.

Will you check what is happening to my complaint while the council is dealing with it?

No. When the council has finished dealing with your complaint, come back to us if you remain unhappy. The council should tell you when it has finished dealing with your complaint.

I think I will suffer lasting harm if the council takes months to deal fully with the complaint. Why can’t the Ombudsman investigate the complaint now?

In rare cases we may investigate urgent complaints without giving the council an opportunity to put the complaint through its complaints procedures first. We only do this in exceptional cases. This is because the council is best placed to resolve any problems quickly. Our investigations take time and so coming directly to us rather than the council may delay action to fix the problem. However, if you think we should treat your complaint as an exception, and you have not asked us already, please let us know.

My complaint is about the council’s plan to stop my place in the care home or stop my care and I will have to move somewhere else or be without care. The council has told me this will happen soon, so if I have to wait some months before the Ombudsman investigates it’s likely I’ll have moved by then or be without care for a prolonged period. Can you deal with my complaint now?

Making a complaint to the council or to us won’t stop the council from going ahead with its plans. We don’t have the power to stop that from happening. If we find the council was a fault for stopping your placement or care we can recommend it takes steps to put this right for you.

What happens if I am still unhappy after the council has completed its response to my complaint?

For more information on how to complain, please read our step by step process.

 

July 2025