What we can and cannot look at
What we can look into
We can consider complaints about most council services. This includes services the council delivers itself and those it pays another organisation to provide, such as private companies.
We can also look at complaints about adult social care. This applies whether the council provides the care or you pay for the care yourself - for example, support in your home or living in a care home.
We also consider complaints about some other organisations that provide local public services.
What we cannot look into
There are some things we’re not allowed to investigate. This is because the law sets clear limits on what we can look at.
Also, while our service is free to use, we have to use public money responsibly. This means we will not investigate every complaint that we potentially could - we have to choose which complaints to look into further.
Below are the most common reasons we may not take a complaint further.
It is too late to investigate
We usually cannot investigate if:
- More than 12 months have passed since you first knew about the problem
The law does not allow us to investigate the issue
By law, we cannot look at certain types of complaints about councils or care providers. Common examples include:
- Staff employment or disciplinary matters
- Complaints about social housing from council tenants (these go to the Housing Ombudsman)
- Issues that affect most or all people in an area, such as council tax setting
- Complaints about what happens inside schools
- Operating or managing public transport
Another organisation is the right route
Sometimes there is a different process designed to deal with your issue. In these cases, we will normally expect you to use that route.
Some common examples include:
- Appealing to a tribunal (for example, for Housing Benefit or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
- Appealing to a government minister (for example, a planning appeal).
- Taking a case to the courts.
We also cannot investigate complaints that have already been to a court or tribunal, or where you are taking this action at the moment.
There is not enough personal impact or fault
We may decide not to investigate if:
- The issue has not affected you significantly, or
- We cannot achieve the outcome you are looking for, or
- We do not think the organisation has done enough wrong to justify a detailed investigation.
We cannot “overrule” decisions
We are not an appeals body or a regulator. This means we cannot remake a council’s decision or decide whether we would have chosen differently.
We look at how a decision was made - whether the organisation followed the correct steps, acted fairly, and kept proper records.
If the organisation acted correctly, we cannot criticise the outcome, even if you disagree with it.
What commonly goes wrong
These are some of the issues we often see in complaints:
- Delays
- Poor record keeping
- Not taking action when needed
- Not following proper procedures or the law
- Unclear or confusing communication
- Giving incorrect or misleading information
- Failing to investigate properly
- Not doing what was previously agreed
What we can and cannot investigate in the common things affecting people
Click the links below to find more detailed information on what we can and cannot investigate in the subject areas people often want to complain about.
We look at all adult social care complaints, including care arranged and paid for privately without the council being involved.
See our general information about complaining about adult social care:
How to complain about adult social care and support
We also have more detailed information on what we can and cannot investigate about the following services:
- Adult social care arranged by councils
- Adult social care arranged privately (independent care providers)
- Councils that arrange and fund residential care placements
- Councils that conduct care needs assessments
- Single investigation for complaints about joint health and social care services
- Resources for people receiving care in prison
We also have information and resources for organisations we investigate, including template complaint procedures and FAQs:
Fact sheet for NHS organisations about the Joint Working Team
We deal with complaints about most children’s social care services, except matters which have been decided in court. See what we can and cannot investigate about the following services:
- Councils' care of 'looked after' children
- Children's care services
- Child protection issues
- The Children Act 1989 Complaints Procedure
We also have general information about children's services complaints depending on who you are:
Extra help for children or young people making a complaint
Information for professionals working with children and young adults
- Special educational needs
- School transport
- Delayed entry for summer-born children
- Education other than at school
We are able to investigate some school related issues in which the local council is usually the responsible body:
Academies operate independently of local authorities, and we cannot currently look at complaints about them. You should speak to the academy initially about how to complain. They will provide you with a copy of their complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about an academy that you have been unable to resolve, you can write to the Secretary of State for Education. There are some exclusion and admission complaints we can look at if a school has recently converted to an academy - see the relevant information above for more details.
We deal with complaints about most council housing services other than social housing. The Housing Ombudsman deals with complaints about social housing, including councils' role as social landlords.
Which ombudsman for social housing complaints?
See what we can and cannot investigate about the following services:
- Homelessness applications
- Harassment or illegal eviction by your private landlord
- Possessions in council storage
- Housing transfers
- Housing applications
- Housing adaptations for people with disabilities
- Housing complaints by private landlords
- Neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour
- Private housing disrepair
- Right to buy applications
- Your neighbour's planning application
- How your planning application is dealt with
- Publicising planning applications
- Advice to planning applicants (complaints about)
- General planning advice (complaints about)
- Section 106 agreements (planning obligations)
- Planning enforcement
- Building control
- Community Infrastructure Levy
- Conservation areas
- Derelict properties
- High hedges
- Listed buildings
- Trees
- Damage to property or personal injury due to poorly maintained highways (including potholes)
- Parking enforcement (including Penalty Charge Notices)
- Moving traffic offences
- Transport for London and London TravelWatch
- Enforcement of road charging schemes (including London's congestion charge and Low Emmission Zones)
- Footpaths and rights of way
- Bus stops and shelters
- Standards and member conduct
- Town and parish councils
- Personnel and employment problems
- Land sales and disposals
- Elections and electoral registration
- Compacts between councils and civil society organisations
- Libraries
- Parks, gardens, playing fields and sports grounds
- Police and Crime Commissioners
- Fire and rescue authorities
- Coroners
- Industrial action