Blog: 13th September 2024 - LLG

Greetings from the LLG Monitoring Officer Conference today in London. The sunny start to the day was a welcome reprieve from the stormy rain clouds of late, and whilst a metaphor might be well placed given the backdrop of a challenging public sector environment, delegates are on good form; unwavering despite the onslaught and re-energised by the companionship of friends and colleagues. Positivity and optimism are in short supply abroad, but here, it ripples through the room with stoicism and hope for a brighter future.

It was against this backdrop that we welcomed our keynote speaker, Amerdeep Somal, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). It was pleasing to hear that despite finding some shocking and acute pressures throughout a range of local authorities, the commitment demonstrated by those working within the sector was evident. This was reinforced by the fact that whilst determinations are not legally enforceable, 99% of councils comply with the actions required (although not all in within the timeframe agreed it must be acknowledged).

Funding of course plays a major role in service delivery, there is a tension between a balanced budget and the provision of timely and compliant provision. Amerdeep’s insight on this was that whilst hard, if you don’t address the issue head on, then some 18 months later you are forced to by way of Ombudsman or Tribunal determination; and in that time, the person, the individual has suffered and cannot get that time back.

It will come as no surprise to you that the top 3 complaint areas (making up over 50% of all complaints) are Children and Education, Housing and Adult Social Care. Last year there were 17,957 complaints to the LGSCO and of those, 80% were upheld. ECHP and Send were major areas of failure as were denied access to the housing register, local connection determinations, and suitable accommodation provision. In terms of adults, whilst the public tend to associate this with older individuals, the main area of complaint comes from delayed needs assessments by young people. There is a friction here when you get complex and multi-agency delivery arrangements leading to providers disagreeing over who should pay. This is all impacted by staff shortages and high turnover leading to disruption of care and confusion over financial responsibility.

So, what can MOs do to improve the position? Well, Amerdeep’s view was that MOs are absolutely important to councils working effectively with the Ombudsman. MOs can be the voice of reason, but sometimes in some councils, complaints are not brought to the attention of the senior leadership team, so it is vital that authorities have the right internal structure to enable MOs to have oversight of cases and that internal visibility is maintained.  

On the subject of Town and Parish Councils falling outside LGSCO jurisdiction and in the context of increasing devolution, Amerdeep acknowledged it made no sense that some authorities using public money for public services are outside their scope and that all residents should have the right for an independent body which provides scrutiny. However, as with all things public sector, this will need additional funding. But it is an interesting point and one which may well receive much more attention as more services are devolved.

The LGSCO is really keen to have a direct route to contact MOs and are attempting to establish a database; in the meanwhile, you can drop us a line and we will collate those responding and forward on directly to the Ombudsman. 

The conference continues for the rest of the day. Currently Bethan Evans is discussing skills and competencies, and we have an array of speakers up later from Trowers & Hamlins, Bevan Brittan, CIPFA and CfGS. Importantly, we will also be discussing the Professional Body for Monitoring Officers which, if you have a view on, please do get in touch via membership@llg.org.uk

Best wishes,

The LLG Team