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Government, citizens and rights
Making a complaint against government and public bodies
If you think you’ve been unfairly treated by a government department, organisation or public body, and you would like to complain, it is important that you contact the appropriate body to deal with your problem.
Government organisations and public bodies
If you have a complaint about a government department, you can take it to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (also called the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration). The Ombudsman deals with complaints from members of the public about poor service, unfair treatment or administrative failures of government departments and some other public bodies (including the NHS in England - see Complaints about NHS services, below) which the Ombudsman can investigate.
Before contacting the Ombudsman, you should try to make your complaint to the organisation involved. If you don't receive a satisfactory answer, or if you don't get a response, ask your MP to send your complaint to the Ombudsman, or use the Ombudsman’s online form to check whether your complaint is one the Ombudsman is able to deal with.
To find out if the organisation you want to complain about is one the Ombudsman can look at, check the list of relevant organisations.
Complaints about local government
If you have a complaint about local government, there are separate Local Government Ombudsmen, for England, Wales and Scotland. They investigate complaints against principal councils (not town, parish or community councils) and certain other bodies. They investigate complaints about most council matters including housing, planning, education and social services. By law, some kinds of complaint cannot be considered, such as personnel complaints and complaints about the internal running of schools.
You must first give the council concerned an opportunity to deal with your complaint itself. It’s best to use the council's own complaints procedure to do this. If you are not satisfied with the action the council takes, you can then send a written complaint to your Local Government Ombudsman, or ask a councillor to do so on your behalf.
Complaints about individual councillors
The Standards Board for England ensures that standards of ethical conduct are maintained across local authorities in England and deals with complaints of misconduct against individual councillors. It also covers complaints about fire authorities, national parks authorities, passenger transport and other publicly run services. You will need to put your complaint in writing.
Complaints about institutes and bodies of the European Community
The European Ombudsman was established to deal with complaints about maladministration by the institutions and bodies of the European Community. You can complain to the Ombudsman if an institution fails to do something it should have done, if it does it in the wrong way or if it does something it should not have done. Some of the most common problems dealt with are:
- unnecessary delay
- refusal of information
- discrimination
- abuse of power
Housing complaints
The Housing Ombudsman Service deals with complaints from people who receive a direct service from registered social landlords in England, and certain other landlords who are members of the scheme, including bodies who take over the management of homes transferred from local authorities. Some private landlords are also members of the scheme. The Local Government Ombudsman deals with complaints about council housing.
Complaints about NHS Services
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman can carry out independent investigations into complaints about poor treatment or service provided through the NHS in England. It looks into complaints against NHS services provided by hospitals, health authorities, trusts, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, opticians and other health-care practitioners. It can also investigate complaints against private health providers if the treatment was funded by the NHS.
Complaints about the police
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) accepts complaints from people who have been the victims of misconduct by a person serving with the police. You can make a complaint if you have witnessed an alleged misconduct, or were present when it took place and as a result suffered loss or distress or were put in danger or at risk. Friends or relatives of the victim of the misconduct, distressed by the effects of the incident on the victim, can also complain.
‘Misconduct’ could include a police officer or member of police staff being rude to you or using excessive force. It could also include unlawful arrest or an abuse of your rights.
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