Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that an appeal against a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman decision not to investigate a case is not reviewed by the same person who made the original decision.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman operates independently of central Government. Decisions about how complaints are investigated and reviewed fall solely within the Ombudsman’s statutory powers. This independence rightly keeps ministers at arm’s length from the complaints service the Ombudsman provides; a service that is an important element of the overarching accountability system for local government.
The Government has no plans to take any steps to dictate how the Ombudsman investigates or reviews individual cases.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides on the complaints and redress routes available to vulnerable patients who have concerns about the contractual terms of telecare services to which they are referred following hospital discharge.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints, and anyone who has seen or experienced poor-quality care has the right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
Telecare is not a mandatory service for local authorities, but many choose to provide a telecare service due to its benefits. Some local authorities will also fully or partially fund telecare for some individuals based on a financial assessment. Local authorities are responsible for the contractual terms of telecare services that they provide, therefore in the first instance an individual should consider making a complaint with the relevant local authority.
If an individual is not satisfied with the way a local authority has dealt with their complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman who can investigate individual concerns. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is the independent complaints lead for adult social care and investigates complaints from those receiving social care.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take legislative steps to amend the Mobile Homes (Site Licensing) (England) Regulations 2014 to (a) require local authorities to review site licences and site licence conditions at regular intervals and (b) take representations from residents into account during those reviews.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have extensive enforcement powers to take action against site owners who breach their site licence conditions. Local authorities can change the conditions attached to a site licence at any time, and may choose to consult residents on the licence conditions being proposed.
The government has published guidance for local authorities on site licensing duties.
Concerns about conditions on a site should be raised with the local authority. If those concerns are not addressed, a formal complaint should be made through the authority’s complaints process and can be taken further, where appropriate, through the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, local authorities have had departmental engagement, intervention or support due to concerns about park homes enforcement capacity or performance in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have extensive enforcement powers to take action against site owners who breach their site licence conditions. Local authorities can change the conditions attached to a site licence at any time, and may choose to consult residents on the licence conditions being proposed.
The government has published guidance for local authorities on site licensing duties.
Concerns about conditions on a site should be raised with the local authority. If those concerns are not addressed, a formal complaint should be made through the authority’s complaints process and can be taken further, where appropriate, through the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve consistency of local authority enforcement of park home site licensing and related protections for residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have extensive enforcement powers to take action against site owners who breach their site licence conditions. Local authorities can change the conditions attached to a site licence at any time, and may choose to consult residents on the licence conditions being proposed.
The government has published guidance for local authorities on site licensing duties.
Concerns about conditions on a site should be raised with the local authority. If those concerns are not addressed, a formal complaint should be made through the authority’s complaints process and can be taken further, where appropriate, through the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing primary legislation to guarantee the right for every person in (a) care and (b) health settings to have at least one essential care supporter.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises how important maintaining meaningful contact with loved ones and other essential care supporters is for the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes and patients in hospitals or hospices.
In April 2025, the Department launched a review of the effectiveness of Care Quality Commission Regulation 9A: Visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices, to consider whether it has been effective in meeting its objectives.
The review considered the experiences of those receiving care, their families and loved ones, providers, and health experts, as well as information from the Care Quality Commission, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and other United Kingdom nations.
The Department is committed to publishing the outcome of the review as soon as possible.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his proposed timetable is for publishing the Government review of CQC regulation 9A.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises how important maintaining meaningful contact with loved ones and other essential care supporters is for the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes and patients in hospitals or hospices.
In April 2025, the Department launched a review of the effectiveness of Care Quality Commission Regulation 9A: Visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices, to consider whether it has been effective in meeting its objectives.
The review considered the experiences of those receiving care, their families and loved ones, providers, and health experts, as well as information from the Care Quality Commission, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and other United Kingdom nations.
The Department is committed to publishing the outcome of the review as soon as possible.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement action his Department undertakes to ensure that temporary accommodation in Leicester meets minimum health, safety and hygiene standards.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
If an applicant is not satisfied with how the council has handled their case, they may complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or take legal action through the courts.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reimburse or provide financial support to families of dementia patients who are required to pay for care while local authorities consider their applications for support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
The Care and Support Statutory Guidance states that “an assessment should be carried out over an appropriate and reasonable timescale taking into account the urgency of needs and a consideration of any fluctuation in those needs”. In addition, under Section 19 of the Care Act 2014, local authorities have powers to meet urgent needs for care and support without first carrying out a needs assessment or financial assessment.
There is no legal entitlement to reimbursement for care costs incurred prior to a local authority decision.
Individuals who are concerned about delays or decisions may raise these through local authority complaints processes or with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to update guidance on handling complaints in children's social care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Departmental officials will be meeting with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to better understand issues with the complaints process, but at present we are not planning to update the complaints guidance. We will, however, publish updated statutory guidance on advocacy services for children, who are making complaints, this year.