School admissions This fact sheet is aimed primarily at parents and carers of children who have not been offered a place at their preferred school and who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. (If your concerns are about infant class size, see our fact sheet on infant class size appeals). My child did not get a place at the school we applied to. Can I complain to the Ombudsman? ...

Possessions in council storage This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who have experienced problems with the way the council has looked after their possessions while dealing with their homelessness application and who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. The council did not look after my possessions properly when it accepted me as homeless. Can the Ombudsman help me? In m ...

Bankruptcy This fact sheet is aimed primarily at council tax payers who have been threatened with bankruptcy proceedings to recover council tax arrears. The council has been threatening me with bankruptcy proceedings. Can the Ombudsman help? In some cases, yes. We can deal with some aspects of the council’s approach to recovering debts. Often the debt is arrears of council tax. (See also our fact ...

Parking enforcement This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who have concerns about a penalty charge notice (PCN) that was issued by a council in relation to a parking contravention and who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I have received a penalty charge notice relating to a parking contravention. Can the Ombudsman help me? Most councils in England operate what is kno ...

Trees This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who have concerns that a council has failed to deal properly with a protected tree and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. The counciI did not deal properly with a protected tree near my home. Can the Ombudsman help me? Yes, in some circumstances. Councils have powers to make tree preservation orders (TPOs) for trees or woodla ...

Complaints about Police and Crime Commissioners This fact sheet is aimed primarily at anyone who has a complaint about police and crime commissioners and who may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. Police and crime commissioners are elected to make sure the police service is effective and hold the chief constable to account. So almost everything they do is related to dealing with ...

Advice to planning applicants (complaints about) This fact sheet is aimed primarily at planning applicants who are unhappy with advice they have received from the council and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I asked the council for advice about the work I wanted to do. I followed the advice I was given and now discover it was wrong. Can the Ombudsman help me? Only in limite ...

Guide for members responsible for complaints: Effective scrutiny of complaint systems Contents: Chapter index for Guide for members responsible for complaints: Effective scrutiny of complaint systems Updated: 06 February 2025 Guide for members responsible for complaints: Effective scrutiny of complaint systems search Search this content Submit search Part 7 • How to scrutinise complaints performa ...

Guide for complaint managers: Designing and delivering effective complaint systems Contents: Chapter index for Guide for complaint managers: Designing and delivering effective complaint systems Updated: 06 February 2025 Guide for complaint managers: Designing and delivering effective complaint systems search Search this content Submit search Part 14 • Complaints stages Complaint stages ‘Organisat ...

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 ...