Personnel and employment problems This fact sheet is aimed primarily at council employees who have an employment-related problem and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I have a problem about employment with the council. Can the Ombudsman help me? In most cases the law says we cannot investigate matters relating to action taken in respect of appointments, removals, pay, discip ...

Post Decision Review (PDR) and Service Complaints Manual Contents: Chapter index for Post Decision Review (PDR) and Service Complaints Manual Updated: 01 June 2024 Post Decision Review (PDR) and Service Complaints Manual search Search this content Submit search Part 12 • Annexes Annexes Annex one: Your complaint, our decision leaflet Annex two: Your complaint , our decision form Annex Three: serv ...

Town and parish councils This fact sheet is aimed primarily at anyone who is experiencing problems with a service provided by a parish or town council and is considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I'm not happy with a service provided by my parish council. Can the Ombudsman help me? In most cases, no. The Local Government Act 1974 (S34(1)) defines the authorities that we may investigate ...

Top tips for making a complaint about local authorities Before we can look at your complaint, you must complain to the organisation involved and give it a chance to sort out your problem. These tips will help make that process easier for you and the person dealing with your complaint. Some organisations encourage you to tell them about your issue before making a formal complaint. This could be th ...

Bus stops and shelters This fact sheet is aimed primarily at people who have concerns about the council’s (or, in London, Transport for London's) actions in respect of local bus stops and shelters and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. I have a problem with decisions the council has made about our local bus stops and shelters. Can the Ombudsman help me? In a few cases, yes. T ...

How to access information We are committed to operating openly and will meet all reasonable requests for information in order to maintain a high level of public trust and confidence in our organisation. We welcome the rights of access to information which are set out in the: UK Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 Freedom of Information Act 2000 Environmental Information Regula ...

Council tax support claims This fact sheet is aimed mainly at people who have problems with a claim for council tax support and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. What is council tax support? From 1 April 2013 council tax support replaced council tax benefit as a way of reducing a council tax bill for those on a low income. All claims since then have been council tax support ...

Manual for Councils Contents: Chapter index for Manual for Councils Updated: 13 May 2026 Manual for Councils search Search this content Submit search Part 9 • Reports Reports The power to issue a report comes from the Local Government Act 1974, sections 30(1). A report is an alternative to a normal decision statement and is issued by the Ombudsman under their personal authority. What is the diffe ...

Special educational needs This fact sheet is aimed mainly at parents who are concerned that their child may have special educational needs that are not being met and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. What is the Ombudsman's role in complaints about special educational needs? The law generally prevents us from investigating complaints where the decision or issue complained ab ...

Councils' care of 'looked after' children This fact sheet is aimed primarily at parents and young people who have concerns about the way a child or young person is being cared for by the local authority and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman. The council is not looking after a child in its care properly. Can the Ombudsman help? In many cases, yes. A child may be ‘looked after’ ...