Social services
are the responsibility of individual councils. Councils are required
by law to have a social services complaints procedure. If you are unhappy
with the service you have received, you should contact your local council.
If your complaint is not resolved by the local complaints procedure,
you can then complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Local Government
Ombudsman system has been set up by the Government to monitor the actions
of local government. Alternativly
you can complain to the National Social Care Council.
The Social Services Inspectorate,
which is part of the Department of Health, cannot investigate complaints
from members of the public.
To find details
of your local council please look at http://www.nhs.uk/England/SocialCare/Listing.aspx
Local
Government Ombudsman
There are
three Local Government Ombudsmen in England. Each of them deals with
complaints from different parts of the country:
London boroughs north of the river Thames (including Richmond but not
including Harrow or Tower Hamlets), Essex, Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, East
and West Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the City
of Coventry:
Local Government
Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Phone: 020 7217 4620
Fax: 020 7217 4621
London Borough of Tower Hamlets, City of Birmingham,
Solihull MBC, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire
and the north of England (except the cities of Lancaster, Manchester
and York):
Local Government
Ombudsman
Beverley House
17 Shipton Road
York YO30 5FZ
Tel: 01904 380200
Fax: 01904 380269
London boroughs south of the river Thames (except
Richmond) and Harrow; the cities of Lancaster, Manchester and York;
and the rest of England, not included in the above areas:
Local Government
Ombudsman
The Oaks No 2
Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry CV4 8JB
Phone: 024 7682 0000
Fax: 024 7682 0001
