Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

New complaint handling guides available now! Today we have published five good practice guides on complaint handling for local councillors, senior leaders, complaint managers and complaint handlers. We've also issued a further guide on managing complaints in commissioned and contracted services. The guides have been developed in consultation with a group of councils who have been piloting our Complaint Handling Code. They are based on real-life, front-line experience of people handling complaints day-to-day in a wide range of councils, as well as their experience of discussing complaints with senior leaders and elected members. The guides are aimed at specific roles within the complaint process to make the most of learning from the experience of the pilot councils and wider best practice. 👉 Complaint handlers: a proportionate approach to complaints 👉 Complaint managers: designing and delivering effective complaints systems 👉 Statutory officers & senior leaders: a guide to effective oversight of complaint systems 👉 Members responsible for complaints: a guide to effective scrutiny of complaint systems 👉 Managing complaints in contracted and commissioned services: a good practice guide The guides should be shared with: ⭐ Elected members responsible for scrutinising complaints ⭐ Chief executives and monitoring officers ⭐ Complaint managers ⭐ Anyone who may be asked to respond to a complaint ⭐ Anyone with responsibility for contracting and commissioning services on behalf of your council. Click the link to find out more 👇 https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/information-for-organisations-we-investigate/complaint-handling-code

The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman, Amerdeep Somal, explains how the Ombudsman is looking to engage more with senior leaders to embed learning from complaints in oversight and scrutiny arrangements in local authorities, care providers and other public bodies.

We have published free training resources for local authorities in England to support them to adopt our Complaint Handling Code successfully. The resources include a PowerPoint presentation which can be adapted to relevant audiences. This includes a video explaining the Complaint Handling Code and a video explaining how to accept a complaint. The training also covers our recently published good practice guides and includes an exercise on the difference between a service request and a complaint. You can access the free resources here: https://lnkd.in/e44NFipP This free training is aimed at front line and senior officers. We offer a full online course for complaint handlers and those that manage complaints processes. Find our more about this training on our website: www.lgo.org.uk/training

We have launched a new guide for complaints about adult social care services. The guide sets out how local councils in England should handle complaints about adult social care, based on the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. It includes a new model for handling complaints which allows councils to try to resolve complaints early, before moving on to having a closer look at issues raised where this is not possible. Although the guide is aimed at people working for local councils, it will also help service users and their families understand what they should expect when challenging decisions or making a complaint about the care they or their loved ones have received. Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said: “Good, effective systems that allow people with care needs and their families to raise concerns and challenge decisions are at the heart of enabling people to live independently and with dignity while also promoting their rights. “When things go wrong, service users should expect the same quality of complaints handling wherever they are in the country, but sadly this is not the case. “Through our investigations, we have found a number of councils unaware of the legislation around handling adult social care complaints and we continue to see councils operating two stage complaints processes, despite the legislation only allowing for a single stage. “In issuing this guide I hope service users will better understand their rights and local authorities their responsibilities for a more consistent approach to complaints handling.” #adultsocialcare #socialcare #localauthority #complaints

Our annual review of local government complaints is published today. The report highlights for the first time that more than one in five remedies (20.8%) by councils are being implemented later than agreed. This means that people, who have already gone through the process of complaining to their local authority, and then to us, are waiting even longer for things to be put right. Nearly 60% of all authorities who were asked to provide a remedy by the Ombudsman were late in at least one case. The report also details that we are upholding 80% of the investigations we carry out, up from 74% in 2022-23. Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “What we’re seeing in the majority of cases isn’t a lack of care or an inability to take responsibility for what has gone wrong, but a sector struggling to cope. “Councils want to comply with our recommendations, accept responsibility when things go wrong, and provide good services to residents, and our 99.5% compliance rate indicates this is the case. But all too often resources and finances prevent them from doing so as swiftly as they should. “However, there are a small number of councils that seem unwilling to respond to our investigations as we expect them to, and we have had to tell those councils that we will issue a witness summons for them to provide information that should otherwise be forthcoming. “Regardless of the reason for the delays in responding, the impact is the same on the people at the centre of the complaints and councils risk losing the opportunity to restore faith when things have gone wrong. "I urge those few councils that do not talk to us and engage in the process to get on board to benefit their local residents The service improvement recommendations we make are practical steps that should be in the gift of local authorities to put in place. If councils are unable to implement them in the timescales we require, they should let us know before they agree to them.” The highest area of complaint across our casework remains complaints about poor services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. This area now dominates our casework, making up 26% of all complaints we received and 42% of all upheld complaints. We found fault in 92% of the education cases we investigated and the numbers are increasing rapidly. Another key area was Adult Social Care Services, which made up 14% of our casework; 80% of investigated complaints were upheld. Complaints about housing and homelessness made up a further 16% of casework, with 84% of investigations upheld – a situation particularly acute in London. Read our annual report on our website https://lnkd.in/dNSyrFda

Experience in public sector governance and an interest in social justice? We need you! We are recruiting for an Independent Advisory Member to join the Commission and be part of our Board Committees. We are looking for a strategic thinker who can bring their senior level experience and be confident to challenge, influence and engage. The post starts in October 2024 for an initial three year term, with the option of an additional term. The role will require a maximum of 18 days per year with a salary of £300 per day plus reasonable travel expenses. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e85Kmj_Z Applications close at 9am on Monday 1st July 2024.

Great to see use of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ‘s data and findings featured in the final DLUHC statutory guidance on Best Value standards. We were one of 70 organisations to respond to the consultation, making the point that effective complaints management is part of a high performing council and that Ombudsman data can be an important early warning indicator. https://lnkd.in/eC23GdEd