Ombudsman and Enforcement Conduct Board sign agreement The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to aid better investigation of complaints and concerns about enforcement agents. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about enforcement agents – more commonly known as bailiffs – when acting on behalf of local authorit ...

New guide aims to improve support for children missing education The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has today published new guidance to help councils better support children who are unable to go to school. The Ombudsman has seen an exponential rise in complaints involving alternative education provision. Over the past three years its caseload has increased tenfold with 38 cases invest ...

Fifteen-minute care calls criticised by Ombudsman as ‘rarely enough’ Councils need to ensure any care visits they arrange give enough time for care workers to do their job properly the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said. The warning comes after Warrington Borough Council was found to have allocated 15-minute care calls to more than 300 people in the region, despite national guida ...

Councils need to get support for adoptive families right, Ombudsman says Lessons from Ombudsman investigations into poor services to children and their adoptive families are being highlighted in a new special report. Called ‘Children need Families’ the new report is aimed at helping to improve the support English councils provide to people throughout the adoption process, using real complaints th ...

Councils risk compounding problems for victims of domestic abuse if they do not follow proper process, Ombudsman says Victims of domestic abuse are sometimes being let down by councils using an outdated and too narrow definition of what abuse means, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has warned. In a new guidance document, aimed at improving councils’ awareness of their duties to vict ...

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 ...

“Just who is left to fight their corner?” – Ombudsman launches report on fostering for councils When ‘Amie’ left care, her local council did not look into her claim that she suffered abuse while living with foster carers properly. This is just one of the cases highlighted in today’s Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report about fostering in England which demonstrates what can and has go ...

Ombudsman reminds councils to review SEN needs before Key Stage transfers Councils need to review children’s special educational needs in the run-up to Key Stage transfers, even if they are staying at the same school, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said. The reminder comes after the Ombudsman investigated a complaint from a Warwickshire parent that the county council had not c ...

Children’s complaints still dominate Ombudsman casework in 2024-25, but housing has overtaken adult services Complaints about education and children’s services are still dominating the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s casework, but housing cases are now the second biggest area of concern for people complaining. Published today, the Ombudsman’s annual review of its local government com ...

New report highlights urgent need to listen to disabled people in the fight against England’s housing crisis England’s housing crisis is deepening, and for Disabled people, its impact is particularly acute. A new report, released today by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, sheds light on the disproportionate challenges Disabled people face when navigating local authorities’ housing a ...