Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman Triennial Review - Housing & Communities Committee 10.01.22
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee was previously the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. The Committee scrutinises the policy, administration and spending of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Mr King leads the body that hears complaints from members of the public about the range of services provided by local authorities in England, as well as adult social care services that are registered with the Care Quality Commission. Complaints processes, including those within councils. Can you tell us what impact it has had on your work and what steps you have taken to ensure that those people whose cases were perhaps held on one side during the initial period of the pandemic have received an appropriate service since? Clearly you had a backlog. How have you been dealing with that? You say you are back to dealing with cases as they come in, but are you back to dealing with things in a similar timeframe now? The proposals for you to be able to investigate cases where the complainant has not suffered a personal injustice. Why do you feel that change is important and how do you anticipate that it would potentially affect your workload? You have been working with the Housing Ombudsman on a joint code for your complaint handling. Particularly with that, how do you envisage that code potentially enhancing your work and co-operation with the Housing Ombudsman? In Scotland and other parts of the UK the Ombudsman has what is called a statutory complaints standards function, so there the Ombudsman can set mandatory standards for complaint handling, they can set standards for data reporting, and that has been a hugely successful approach. The Public Services Ombudsmen in Wales and Northern Ireland particularly have powers to investigate issues on their own initiative, without requiring that complaint in the first instance from a member of the public. Are those powers that you would like to have? Is that something that you would support? How would you deal with a complaint that is a whistleblowing complaint? Focus reports: domestic abuse and children’s services, implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act You have published focus reports on subjects such as domestic abuse and children’s services. Looking across these different reports, in your view, what lessons are there that local councils need to learn? Your report into the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act was based on the cases before the Covid-19 pandemic. Are there any changes in the situation since then? Local authority complaints procedures and resources. Jurisdiction over housing matters. Education and the potential gaps there in your remit. Adult social care. Councils and councillors. Possibilities of a public service ombudsman. The accountability of your service. Committee: Mr Clive Betts MP Lab Sheffield SE, Chair Bob Blackman MP Con Harrow East Ian Byrne MP Lab Liverpool, West Derby Brendan Clarke-Smith MP Con Bassetlaw Florence Eshalomi MP Lab Vauxhall Ben Everitt MP Con Milton Keynes North Rachel Hopkins MP Lab Luton South Andrew Lewer MP Con Northampton South Mary Robinson MP Con Cheadle Matt Vickers MP Con Stockton South Mohammad Yasin MP Lab Bedford Members to put on record any interests they have: Mr Clive Betts: Vice President of the Local Government Association Mohammad Yasin: Member of Bedford Town Deal Board. Rachel Hopkins: Vice President of the Local Government Association and I employ a councillor in my office. Ian Byrne: Councillor on the Poole City Council and I employ a councillor in my office. Florence Eshalomi: Member of the Local Government Association, Vice President. Bob Blackman: Vice President of the Local Government Association and I employ a councillor in my office. Brendan Clarke-Smith: I employ councillors in my office Mary Robinson: Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Whistleblowing & I employ a councillor in my staff team. Andrew Lewer: Vice Chair of the LGA, and on the Northampton Forward Board. Witness: Michael King, Ombudsman, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
