There is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ chance to fix broken public services says Local Government Ombudsman

Library image: Nursing home resident and carer

The sweeping programme of local government reorganisation and devolution underway across England is chance to redesign services so they work better

Local authority leaders have an historic opportunity to rebuild public trust in local services through local government reforms, says the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

New figures, showing a 33% rise in complaints made to the Ombudsman about English authorities over the past year, suggest the case for change is more urgent than ever.

The Ombudsman’s annual review of complaints argues:

‘The sweeping programme of local government reorganisation and devolution underway across England is a chance to break down the barriers that have held back joined-up delivery of public services for decades’.

Library image; AdobeStock

Huge rise in the number of complaints about local government services

The LGSCO received 27,625 complaints in 2025-26, more than doubling the 16% rise recorded the previous year, across every service area from housing and adult social care to special educational needs and children’s services. The scale of the increase is alarming.

Recent complaints against Ealing and Hounslow Councils show how complex the regulations governing housing and social care are

Councils have a statutory duty of care to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and also to those who need social care and children with special educational needs. The Ombudsman’s office investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’.

Case one: Disabled woman and her child left in B&B accommodation for over a year

In April the Ombudsman found fault with Ealing for leaving a disabled woman and her child in B&B accommodation for over a year, during which time she was also pregnant. By law, B&B accommodation is considered unsuitable for families with children and can only be used for a maximum of six weeks.

Ealing had to apologise to her and pay her £6,000.

Library image; AdobeStock

Case two: Girl with complex educational needs moved school to access help which Hounslow still failed to provide

In the same month the Ombudsman slammed Hounslow Council for the way they treated an autistic child whose parents moved her out of a school where she was happy to try and access the care she needed, on the Council’s advice, only to find the second school could not meet her complex needs either.

Publishing her decision, Amerdeep Clarke said every council in the country should look at this case to see if they had the right arrangements in place.

The new Cabinet Member for Children & Young Futures, Cllr Madeeha Asim, read out an apology at last week’s Cabinet meeting, acknowledging the Council’s responsibility and saying lessons had been learned.

READ ALSO: Social care watchdog slams Hounslow Council for losing oversight of vulnerable children

READ ALSO: Cllr Madeeha Asim apologises for Hounslow Council’s failure to provide for child with complex educational needs

Case three: Man overcharged for care

Just this month there have been two decisions against Hounslow Council as a result of complaints to the Ombudsman’s Office – one about overcharging for the care of a man after he came out of hospital, the other about a vulnerable woman who was evicted and lost her possessions as a result.

These cases show how complicated the systems are by which the councils are operating and which residents with problems have to try and navigate.

In the case in which the Council overcharged for care, they billed the man for three days of care when he was first out of hospital, the cost of which should have been covered by the NHS.

READ ALSO: Hounslow Council criticised for overcharging for care

Case four: Woman lost her possessions when she was evicted

In the other case, ‘Miss X’ had several health conditions which affected her day-to-day life. As a result, she was unable to provide herself with good nutrition, to maintain her personal hygiene, or to use her home safely.

READ ALSO: Local Government Ombudsman finds fault with Hounslow Council over eviction of vulnerable woman

The case involved a variety of laws and regulations governing housing and social care.

She was issued an eviction notice by her landlord in spring 2024. By September 2024, the notice had expired and there was no evidence her landlord planned to proceed with the eviction, so the Council closed the case.

In mid-October 2024 she received a notice that her landlord had applied to court for a possession order. The following April the landlord obtained a writ of possession to evict her and the eviction went ahead on 16 May.

She asked for help with packing and was told carers didn’t do packing. She asked for a Discretionary Housing Payment to cover the cost of getting someone else to do her packing and was told a DHP wouldn’t cover packing either. The Council suggested she talk to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

In the event she had to return her Zimmer frames, walking sticks, a walker, a special chair and a hospital bed on loan because she could not take them with her. She then had to reapply for mobility aids once she was settled.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman criticised Hounslow for delaying action until Miss X was evicted from her home and for failing to consider what it should to do to protect her belongings.

There is “a serious and growing gap between what residents expect and what they are receiving from their local authorities”

Amberdeep Clarke

Commenting on the sharp rise in complaints against local authorities, Ombudsman Amerdeep Clarke said they represented deepening crisis of public confidence in the services provided by local councils:

“A 33% rise in complaints is not a statistical blip. It is a signal. When people cannot get the help they need, and feel they have no other recourse, they come to us. That so many are doing so tells us something important: there is a serious and growing gap between what residents expect and what they are receiving from their local authorities”.

The once-in-a-generation programme of local government reorganisation and devolution now underway presented a genuine opportunity to redesign services, she added, and to:

“break down the silos that have frustrated joined-up delivery for decades, and find locally-driven solutions to problems that have persisted through successive waves of national reform.

“New authorities should not inherit old failures: they should inherit the learning that comes from them. That intelligence, if left uncaptured, cannot be recovered.

“The problems documented here are serious. But they are not insurmountable. And the opportunity to address them, at pace and at scale, has rarely been greater.”