Advice and guidance

• Focus reports
• Joint publications
• Special reports
• Guidance notes

Focus reports

Focus reports are a new style of themed publication published by the Local Government Ombudsmen on particular subjects of complaint. They draw on the lessons learnt from complaints the Ombudsmen have investigated and include recommendations on good practice.

They are web-based publications. Printed copies will not be available.

Available so far are:

• Taking possession: councils' use of bailiffs for local debt collection published November 2012
• Adult social care: LGO - the single point of contact for complaints published July 2012
• School admissions: are parents and pupils getting a fair hearing? published November 2011
• Can't pay? Won't pay? Using bankruptcy for council tax debts published October 2011
• Out of school ... out of mind? How councils can do more to give children out of school a good education, published September 2011
• Homelessness: how councils can ensure justice for homeless people, published July 2011

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Joint publications

From time to time the Ombudsmen will collaborate with other organisations to produce guidance material.

In July 2011, they issued the following report jointly with the Centre for Public Scrutiny. It provide guidance for councils focusing on the role of overview and scrutiny committees.

• Aiming for the best: Using lessons from complaint to improve public services

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Special reports

A series of special reports highlight our experience of handling complaints in particular subject areas with recommendations on good practice.

Eight special reports have been published. They are available here in .pdf format:

• Local partnerships and citizen redress (July 2007)
• Telecommunications masts: problems with ‘prior approval’ applications (June 2007)
• Memorial safety in local authority cemeteries (March 2006)
• Neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour (February 2005)
• Parking enforcement by local authorities (December 2004)
• Advice and guidance on school admissions and appeals (March 2004) - this has been removed as it is out of date. Please refer to the Focus report on School Admissions (above) instead.
• Advice and guidance on arrangements for forwarding housing benefit appeals to the Appeals Service (February 2004)
• Advice and guidance on the funding of aftercare under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (July 2003)

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Guidance notes

Guidance notes have been written specifically to provide guidance to bodies within the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction. The current ones available here in .pdf format are:

• Running a complaints system
• Good administrative practice
• Guidance on financial remedies 

We also have a short Guidance note on ‘unreasonably persistent’ complainants and ‘unreasonable complainant behaviour’. This is only available here - see below.

• Guidance note on managing unreasonable complainant behaviour

Date Updated: 28/11/12