The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: Complaint Process in Detail

The LGSCO investigates complaints about:

• Council services — children's services, adult social care, housing, planning, parking, education admissions, council tax administration, environmental health, refuse collection.
• Adult social care providers, whether the care is funded by the council or self-funded.
• Some other bodies — school admission appeal panels, education health and care plan decisions, some public authorities.

It does NOT cover:

• Government departments (use the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for those).
• NHS (use PHSO via your MP after the NHS complaint process).
• Schools that have already gone through the formal admissions appeal panel — only the panel's conduct can be examined, not the merits.
• Police (use the Independent Office for Police Conduct).
• Internal council employment matters.
• Court decisions or judicial actions.

The LGSCO's powers come from Part III of the Local Government Act 1974, and its jurisdiction is defined by that Act rather than by what feels unfair. Four gates have to be open.

1. The council has had its chance. Section 26(5) requires the authority to have had the opportunity to investigate and reply, so you must normally have completed its complaints procedure. The exceptions are narrow — no procedure exists, the council refuses to engage, or waiting would cause serious harm.
2. There is maladministration causing injustice. Maladministration is a failing in how the council acted: not following its own policy or a statutory duty, unreasonable delay, losing evidence, failing to give reasons, or failing to act on its own decision. Injustice is the consequence — money lost, an entitlement missed, avoidable distress, or the time and trouble of chasing. A decision you simply disagree with, properly made, is neither.
3. You are in time. The complaint must reach the LGSCO within 12 months of the day you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, about the matter. The Ombudsman can disapply the limit where it would be unjust not to — you were a child, you were unaware of the failure, or illness or disability prevented you. Ask expressly and explain the delay.
4. No better remedy exists. Under section 26(6) the LGSCO will not normally investigate where you had a right of appeal to a tribunal or a remedy in court, unless it was not reasonable to expect you to use it. This is what diverts SEND, planning, council tax, and housing benefit disputes elsewhere.

You can complain on behalf of another person — a relative, friend, or someone you support — with their consent, or in their interests where they cannot consent. Personal representatives can complain about a deceased person's care. Solicitors can act, but most complaints are brought by individuals and family members, and the LGSCO does not award legal costs.

Stage 1 — Initial assessment. Submit at lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint. What you send decides whether the case is taken up at all: the council's final response letter, a one-page dated chronology, the documents proving each key event, and a short statement of the injustice and the remedy you want. Many complaints close here — the council's process was not completed, the complaint is out of time, an alternative remedy exists, or the injustice is not clear from the papers. If yours is declined you receive written reasons and can request a review.

Stage 2 — Investigation. An investigator takes the case, requires the council's records (the LGSCO has statutory powers to compel documents), puts the allegations to the authority, and takes further information from you where needed. Almost everything is done on the papers; oral evidence is rare. The investigator then produces a draft statement of reasons setting out proposed findings.

Stage 3 — Comment and decision. Both sides can comment on the draft before it is finalised. This is your last real chance to influence the outcome, and the effective response identifies a specific finding and the document that contradicts it rather than restating the complaint. The Ombudsman then issues the final decision — upheld, upheld in part, or not upheld — with recommendations where a failing is found. Most decisions are published in anonymised form on the LGSCO database.

Expect roughly six to twelve months from acceptance to decision, longer for complex social care and children's cases. Where a matter is time-critical, say so at the outset and ask for it to be prioritised.

Common LGSCO remedies:

• Apology — formal, in writing, signed by a senior officer.
• Financial compensation — based on the LGSCO's "remedies guidance". Typical figures:
  • £100-£500 for moderate distress or inconvenience.
  • £500-£1,500 for significant distress or missed service.
  • £1,500-£5,000 for serious failures with long-term impact.
  • £5,000+ for severe injustice (rare).
• Specific actions — re-do an assessment, re-issue a missing service, correct records.
• Policy review — change the council's policy or training to prevent recurrence.
• Service improvement — publish learning and changes implemented.

What the LGSCO cannot do. It cannot overturn a lawful decision it merely disagrees with, substitute its own view for a professional judgement properly made, discipline or dismiss an officer, award exemplary or punitive damages, fine the council, or investigate council employment matters, internal school disputes, court decisions, the police, the NHS, or government departments. It also cannot deal with council landlord functions — repairs and tenancy management belong to the Housing Ombudsman.

Recommendations are not legally binding, but councils implement them in the overwhelming majority of cases. Where a council refuses, the Ombudsman can issue a report under section 30 of the 1974 Act; the council must consider it and publish a notice, and where it still does not comply the Ombudsman can issue a further report requiring a statement in a local newspaper. That publicity is usually decisive, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government takes an interest in authorities that repeatedly refuse.

The most common upheld cases:

• Adult social care — needs assessment delays, refusal to fund eligible needs, top-up disputes, care home choice (under the Care Act 2014 Choice of Accommodation Regulations).
• Children's services — child protection conduct (subject to specific exclusions), looked-after children placement, special guardianship support.
• Special educational needs — EHCP refusal, delay, content disputes (but final SENDIST tribunal route runs in parallel).
• Housing — homelessness duty failures, unsuitable temporary accommodation, decision delays (but Housing Ombudsman covers council tenancy management).
• Planning — administrative failure in planning decisions, enforcement delays.
• Council tax — collection conduct (not the rate of tax), exemption refusals.

The LGSCO publishes annual statistics, focus reports, and a decisions database at lgo.org.uk/decisions. Reading similar decisions is the single most useful preparation for a complaint: they show you the language the Ombudsman uses, the evidence that persuades, and the remedies actually recommended for your type of failing.

If the complaint is closed at initial assessment, read the reason carefully — it usually identifies a fixable problem. If the council's process was not complete, complete it and come back. If there is an alternative remedy, use it. If the injustice was not clear, that is a drafting failure you can cure by resubmitting with a chronology and a quantified statement of loss.

Request a review of the decision. There is no appeal from an LGSCO decision, but a senior officer will review it where you can show new evidence that was available but not considered, or a clear procedural error — an allegation that was never addressed, or a factual finding contradicted by a document already on file. Reviews granted on the basis of disagreement alone are rare, so be surgical.

Check you are in the right place. Housing repairs and tenancy management go to the Housing Ombudsman; NHS matters to the PHSO; police conduct to the IOPC. Being sent away is not the same as losing.

Judicial review of an LGSCO decision is possible, but only on public-law grounds — illegality, irrationality, or procedural unfairness — not because the decision was wrong on the facts, and within three months. Often the better target is the council's decision rather than the Ombudsman's: where the authority acted unlawfully or breached a statutory duty, judicial review against the council is the direct route. See judicial review: process and costs.

Where the loss is financial and the council was negligent, an ordinary civil claim may be available, with a six-year limitation period — but the LGSCO will usually decline to investigate a matter you are litigating.