Record number of complaints to Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
2 mins read
Wednesday 30 July 2025
Many parents of children with additional needs talk about the battle to get support for their child. One of the routes of complaint about this for families in England is the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
Earlier this month the LGSCO published its annual report for the year 2024-25, which showed they are dealing with record numbers of complaints – exceeding 20,000 for the first time.
Investigating complaints about local authorities
Complaints about education and children’s services are still dominating its casework. Housing has now moved to the second biggest area of concern overtaking adult social care.
The LGSCO investigates complaints about local authorities. It can look at how a council has dealt with a child’s special educational needs. They can also consider complaints about social care and housing. You can’t complain to the Ombudsman about something which you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal about.
Daily battle
Amanda Elliot, Health and Social Care policy lead at Contact, said: “Many families with disabled children use the complaints process of the LGSCO because they are unable to access the support they need for their child. It is a long and time-consuming process to follow the local authority complaints process and then go to the LGSCO, so it is not something entered into lightly. The record number of complaints to the LGSCO is a sad indictment of the daily battle that parents talk about and the state of the public services they rely on.
“It’s why we believe the government should implement the Law Commission’s proposals in full and why it’s crucial that the forthcoming SEND reforms create a system that works for every child – strengthening support for children who do not have an Education, Health and Care plan, while protecting current rights.”
Contact’s social care asks include a separate social care assessment pathway and national eligibility criteria.
Making a complaint about services
We have information about how to complain about services, whether that’s a refusal to assess, delays or quality.
