New Chief Executive for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Julie Odams has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). Julie has been the Head of Policy and Communications and a member of the LGSCO’s Executive Team for the last two years. She will replace current CEO, Nigel Ellis, following his decision to retire from May 2 ...

Complaints about privately arranged adult social care We can investigate complaints about adult social care arranged privately with a care provider, whether paid for with private money or Direct Payments from a council. This fact sheet deals with complaints to care providers about privately arranged adult social care. We have a separate fact sheet for complaints about adult care services generall ...

Interim Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman announced Paul Najsarek Paul Najsarek has been appointed as the interim Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, following the retirement of current Ombudsman Michael King at the end of the month. With extensive experience in both the Ombudsman’s key jurisdictions in local government and adult social care, Paul has been appointed by the Depart ...

Factsheet for NHS organisations about the Joint Working Team Who we are and what we do The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) have a team of investigators who consider complaints for both Ombudsmen. This is the Joint Working Team. We look at complaints that are about both health and social care services where we decide that a j ...

Ombudsman publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has presented its Annual Report and Accounts to parliament for the period April 2024 to March 2025. For the second consecutive year, the Ombudsman saw a 15% increase in the number of new complaints registered. During 2024-25, the LGSCO dealt with 22,010 complaints and enquiries. Of the 4, ...

How to register a complaint First make sure you have read and understood our step by step process to making a complaint. Anybody can complain and we are a free service. But you should give the organisation you are complaining about chance to sort out your complaint first. You should go through all stages of the organisation’s complaint process. If you are a councillor or MP, you can help local pe ...

Ombudsman’s COVID report highlights how councils and care providers coped The COVID-19 pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on councils and care providers, and a new report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman analyses just how those organisations coped. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about local councils and care providers in England, getting involved when things have gon ...

Ombudsman responds to NAO report on sustainability of local government finances The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has welcomed the report by the National Audit Office (NAO), highlighting the precarious nature of local government finances due to increased demand for frontline services. The report highlights the increasing number of complaints the Ombudsman receives and upholds, as evi ...

Ombudsman publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has laid its Annual Report and Accounts before parliament (on 16 December), for the period April 2023 – March 2024. The year included the Ombudsman’s 50th anniversary, being created by the Local Government Act 1974, and the Ombudsman launching its first complaint handling code for local a ...

Niki Investigator I’ve been an Investigator at the Ombudsman for more than six years and I love it. It is very rewarding to have such a positive impact on people. I still remember the first person whose complaint I upheld. She was an elderly woman who had overpaid care fees for some time and the care agency had simply ignored her concerns. It eventually agreed to refund her thousands of pounds; m ...