Guidance on Jurisdiction Contents: Chapter index for Guidance on Jurisdiction Updated: 01 January 2026 Guidance on Jurisdiction search Search this content Submit search Part 1 • 1. Introduction 1. IntroductionThis is internal guidance which we have published for transparency. It may have links or references to other internal guidance or policies which are not published. Last updated: January 2026 ...

Advisory Forum Working with people who have used our service to help us improve Who sits on the advisory forum? Our advisory forum is made up of a majority of members of the public who have used our service. We also have representatives from local authorities and social care providers, as well as those who act as advocates for the public such as advisory bodies, MPs and councillors. What's the ad ...

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman appoints new Director of Corporate Services The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has appointed James Strachan as its new Director of Corporate Services. James joins from Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire, where he has served as Chief Executive for the past four years. He brings a wealth of experience from across local and central g ...

Families due to receive long-overdue remedies after Leicester City Council reverses refusal of Ombudsman recommendations Two families left without proper housing support by Leicester City Council will now be offered the financial remedies recommended by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, after the council reversed its previous decisions refusing to pay. The Ombudsman has today publis ...

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 ...

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 ...

Introducing the new virtual assistant The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has launched a new online assistant to help people get the information they need, faster. The virtual assistant can answer questions, help people understand how to make a complaint, and explain what LGSCO can and cannot look at. It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to trawl through information contained within th ...

Local government complaint reviews See the data sheets for all of our complaint statistics (complaints and enquiries we received and the decisions made) for each English local authority. Some years are accompanied by a report summarising that year's key themes. Please find supplementary guidance on interpreting our complaints data. 2024-25 Report - annual review of local government complaints 202 ...

Essex County Council to reconsider assessment of Disability Related Expenses The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found Essex County Council at fault in how it considered two separate women’s Disability Related Expenses (DREs). The women both have Court Appointed Deputies to make decisions about their financial affairs, because their disabilities mean they can not do this for themse ...

Haringey and Islington councils criticised for how they recovered business rate debts The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised two London councils for the way they tried to recover historic business rate debts. In one case, London Borough of Islington tried to recover debts going back to the early 2000s, despite the woman telling them she was not liable. The Ombudsman’s inves ...