Right to buy applications This fact sheet is aimed primarily at council tenants who are experiencing problems with their right to buy applications and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I am unhappy about the way the council is dealing with my right to buy application. Can the Ombudsman help me? Yes, in some circumstances. We consider whether the council has done something wr ...

Section 106 agreements (planning obligations) This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who have concerns about the way a section 106 agreement (or planning obligation) has been considered or enforced. It provides some guidance for people who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. What are section 106 agreements? New development can place extra burdens on the existing infrastr ...

Yearly News 2022 15 Dec 2022 Oxfordshire fails to provide alternative education for a year 14 Dec 2022 Ombudsman’s Annual Report highlights improvements for complainants and local service users The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has published its Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22, which details the success of its work to give more complainants a quicker decision on their case. 08 Dec ...

Lancashire County Council criticised for failing to support vulnerable children properly Lancashire County Council has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for not providing the right support for two vulnerable siblings when they moved to live with their aunt and uncle. The siblings, who had a turbulent background and had spent time in foster care, became subject to a ...

Liverpool criticised by Ombudsman for failing disabled teenage siblings The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised Liverpool City Council for not ensuring two teenage siblings with significant needs were provided with the support they should have received for 18 months. The siblings, who have multiple disabilities including visual impairments and complex communication needs, bo ...

Council’s decision-making criticised during school transport investigation The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has asked Staffordshire County Council to reconsider whether it pays for transport to get a teenager, who has autism, to her college some 25 miles away. Since moving to post-16 education, the girl has not received any financial help to get to the college named in her Education ...

Manual for Councils Contents: Chapter index for Manual for Councils Updated: 09 September 2025 Manual for Councils search Search this content Submit search Part 10 • Duty to report our decisions to elected officials Duty to report our decisions to elected officials If we make a finding of fault, councils and some authorities have a duty to report that finding to elected officials. However, the re ...

Councillors and MPs This page helps Councillors and MPs understand what to do, if they want to help somebody use our service or make a complaint themselves. What complaints can the Ombudsman investigate? We can investigate complaints about most council services. This includes services that councils pay other organisations to deliver (usually called outsourced or commissioned services). We can inv ...

Ombudsman investigation highlights councils’ recruitment problems The problems faced by councils in recruiting educational psychologists have been highlighted in an investigation report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The report, which upholds a North Yorkshire mother’s complaint about delays by the county council in meeting her son’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, has ...

Surrey boy with special needs spent too long in inappropriate school Surrey County Council took 15 months too long to issue a disabled boy’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, and unfairly limited his father’s ability to chase for updates, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation has found. The boy, who has significant Special Educational Needs (SEN), spent too long in a sch ...