Dudley council to refund care home fees following Ombudsman investigation Dudley council has agreed to refund care home top-up fees for concerned families whose relatives were not offered an affordable placement, because of a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation. The agreement has come following a complaint from a man about care home top-up fees he paid for his mother’s care. ...

Ombudsman annual review highlights widening cracks in council complaints systems The ‘widening cracks’ in local government complaint handling are being highlighted in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s annual review of complaints 2020-2021, published today. Over the past year, the Ombudsman has upheld a greater proportion of investigations – 67% – than ever before. This continues an ...

Heavily pregnant woman left to ‘sofa surf’ by Hounslow council A homeless woman left to sofa surf by London Borough of Hounslow while heavily pregnant, has been given permanent accommodation during a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation. The woman was seven months pregnant when she was made homeless after falling out with her parents, but instead of taking her homelessness app ...

Somerset council took too long assessing disabled woman’s care needs Somerset County Council has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after taking too long to assess a vulnerable woman’s care needs. The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council took 21 months to carry out a reassessment of her needs. The reassessment also failed to address questions about who would ...

London council failed to review its support for disabled children Councils should respond to all recommendations made during independent complaints investigations, says the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after it upheld a mother’s complaint about London Borough of Waltham Forest. The issue is being highlighted after the mother of a disabled child asked the Ombudsman to investigate the ...

Somerset County Council fails to complete assessment of woman’s needs Somerset County Council has been asked to complete its assessment of a disabled woman’s needs following an earlier complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Following that complaint, the council had agreed to reassess the woman’s needs properly and consider her eligibility under the Care Act 2014. However, th ...

Kingston council slept on resident’s fly-tipping concerns, Ombudsman reports A dumped mattress caused so much dismay for one Kingston resident that he took his complaint all the way to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The resident told the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames council that the mattress had been dumped in a river in a council-run park and asked that it be removed. B ...

Decision Statements Manual Contents: Chapter index for Decision Statements Manual Updated: 18 August 2025 Decision Statements Manual search Search this content Submit search Part 15 • Appendix Three: Examples of summaries Draft decision summaries Based on current evidence we propose to complete our investigation into how the Council dealt with a planning application and its committee procedures. ...

Monthly News May 2019 31 May 2019 Ombudsman responds to CIVEA announcement 30 May 2019 Council denies its obligations to homeless domestic violence victim 23 May 2019 London council criticised for significant delays when completing plans for children with Special Educational Needs 23 May 2019 Residents in Stockport Town Centre incorrectly declined parking permits by council 16 May 2019 Medway Cou ...

Complaints about adult social care arranged by councils 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 complai ...