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LGSCO complaint

LGSCO EHCP complaint — the platform drafts it for your review

When the local authority misses deadlines, fails to deliver Section F provision, or mishandles your case, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can recommend financial remedies and service improvements. The platform organises your timeline, identifies maladministration points, and drafts a clear complaint for your review. You edit every word before you submit. £149/year.

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Quick answer

The LGSCO investigates complaints about local authority maladministration causing injustice — typically EHCP delays, failures to deliver Section F provision, and process failures. You must complete the local authority's own complaints process first. The Ombudsman can recommend financial remedies, apologies and service improvements. Investigations typically take 6-9 months. Use the SEND Tribunal for refusal/content/cease decisions and LGSCO for everything else.

When LGSCO is the right route

The Ombudsman handles complaints about how the local authority has acted — its decisions, processes, communication, and compliance with duties. Common LGSCO-suitable EHCP complaints:

  • local authority missed the 6-week assessment decision deadline
  • local authority missed the 20-week final EHCP deadline
  • local authority failed to deliver Section F provision once the EHCP was finalised
  • Annual review delayed or final amended plan late
  • local authority failed to consult required professionals during assessment
  • local authority did not respond to correspondence within published timescales
  • local authority's complaint handling itself was inadequate
  • local authority fail to provide alternative education under section 19 EA 1996
  • local authority failure to act on Tribunal orders within the deadline

LGSCO vs SEND Tribunal — which route?

SEND Tribunal

For: Refusal to assess, refusal to issue, content of Sections B/F/I, cease to maintain

Remedies: Order local authority to assess/issue/amend/maintain. Substantive decision on the EHCP itself.

LGSCO

For: Process failures, delays, failure to deliver provision, communication, complaint handling

Remedies: Financial remedy, apology, service improvements. Cannot reverse Tribunal-eligible decisions.

Both routes can run in parallel for different issues. For example: a Tribunal appeal on Section F content and an LGSCO complaint about the delay in issuing the EHCP that gave rise to the appeal.

How to complain to the LGSCO about an EHCP

  1. 1

    Complete the local authority's own complaints process

    LGSCO normally requires this. Most local authorities have two stages — write to the local authority following its published complaints procedure. Keep copies of everything. Allow the timescales the local authority has published before escalating.

  2. 2

    Build a clear timeline

    Document every relevant event with dates: requests, decisions, missed deadlines, communications, impact. The Ombudsman case turns on the chronology — make it precise.

  3. 3

    Identify the maladministration

    What did the local authority do wrong? Be specific: missed statutory deadline, failed to consult required professional, breached section 42 duty, did not respond to correspondence within their own published timescales. Reference law and policy.

  4. 4

    Identify the injustice

    What was the impact on the child and family? Lost provision, missed school, distress, time and trouble pursuing the local authority, parent time off work, etc. The Ombudsman remedies the injustice, so quantify it.

  5. 5

    Submit the LGSCO complaint

    Use the LGSCO online form at lgo.org.uk. Attach key documents (decisions, correspondence). Set out the maladministration, the injustice, what you have already done, and what remedy you want.

  6. 6

    Engage with the investigation

    The investigator may ask for further information. Respond promptly. The local authority will be asked for its version of events; you may get the chance to comment. Final decision letter is binding on the local authority in practice.

Typical LGSCO remedies for EHCP failures

The Ombudsman's published Guidance on Remedies sets out common award ranges:

  • Time and trouble for pursuing the complaint
  • Distress remedy for affected family members
  • Remedy for lost Section F provision
  • Remedy for lost education due to delay
  • Remedy for late EHCP issuing
  • Service improvements: required changes to local authority processes
  • Apology: from senior officer or director
  • Specific actions: expediting decisions, completing reviews, etc.

Building your LGSCO complaint pack

  • local authority's complaints process completed (both stages)
  • Timeline of events with precise dates
  • Copies of all relevant correspondence
  • Copies of the EHCP, decisions, professional reports
  • Identification of specific maladministration (with reference to law/policy)
  • Quantification of injustice (lost provision, distress, time)
  • Statement of remedy sought
  • LGSCO online form completed at lgo.org.uk

Common LGSCO complaint pitfalls

  • Trying to use LGSCO instead of SEND Tribunal for refusal/content/cease decisions — wrong route
  • Submitting before completing local authority complaints process — premature
  • Vague maladministration claims without specific reference to law/policy
  • Not quantifying the injustice or asking for specific remedy
  • Mixing too many issues without clear prioritisation
  • Time limits — generally must complain within 12 months of becoming aware of issue

Frequently asked questions

What is the LGSCO?
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) investigates complaints about councils, including local authorities' handling of EHCPs. The Ombudsman is independent of councils and investigates whether the local authority acted with maladministration causing injustice. It can recommend remedies including financial compensation, apologies, and service improvements.
When can I complain to the LGSCO about an EHCP?
After exhausting the local authority's own complaints process (usually two stages). LGSCO normally requires you to give the local authority the chance to put things right first. Common EHCP complaints: missed 20-week deadline, failure to deliver Section F provision, delayed annual review, late final amended plan, poor communication, failure to assess.
What can the LGSCO actually do?
The Ombudsman can recommend: financial remedy for time and trouble, financial remedy for delayed/missed provision, apologies, service improvements (e.g. revised local authority processes), and individual remedies (e.g. expediting outstanding decisions). local authorities almost always comply with recommendations even though they are not legally binding.
What can the LGSCO not do?
The Ombudsman cannot: order the local authority to issue an EHCP (only the SEND Tribunal can do that), reverse a placement decision (Tribunal again), substitute its own decision for the local authority's discretion, or override Tribunal decisions. Where you have a Tribunal route, LGSCO normally expects you to use it instead.
How long does an LGSCO investigation take?
Typically 6-9 months from registration to final decision. Initial assessment within a few weeks; substantive investigation 4-7 months; final decision letter follows. Complex cases can take longer. The LGSCO publishes investigation outcomes that other parents can refer to.
How much compensation might I get?
Awards vary by case. The Ombudsman may recommend financial remedies for time and trouble, distress, lost provision, or delay, alongside service improvements and apologies. See the LGSCO published guidance on remedies for the types of outcomes it can recommend.
Should I complain to LGSCO before or after appealing to Tribunal?
Different routes for different issues. Use the SEND Tribunal for: refusal to assess, refusal to issue, contents of B/F/I, cease decisions. Use LGSCO for: process failures, delays, failure to deliver provision, communication failures, complaint handling failures. You can use both — Tribunal for the substantive decision, LGSCO for the process complaints.
What evidence do I need for an LGSCO complaint?
Timeline of events with dates, copies of all correspondence, copies of any decisions and reports, the local authority's responses to your complaints, evidence of impact on the child (lost provision, school issues), and a clear statement of what you want the Ombudsman to find and recommend.

Related guides

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