Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional resources or procedural changes are being considered to clear the backlog at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, with specific reference to reducing pre-allocation waiting times.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. Decisions on the assessment, prioritisation and allocation of individual complaints, including cases where delay may risk continuing or irreversible injustice, are operational matters for the Ombudsman.

We provided a 33% uplift in funding for 2025/26 to increase capacity, and are in active discussion with the Ombudsman over future funding needs.