| SPOTLIGHT |
The Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, Clive Betts MP, has written to the Government about its lack of response to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's Triennial Review, which was published more than two years ago.
Writing in a letter on Monday (15 April) to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, Betts highlighted a comment made by the minister on 2 February 2022 that his Department was "working in partnership with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to consider the Triennial Review's recommendations and will be responding in due course".
However, two years on from Gove's comments, the Ombudsman is still awaiting a response.
Betts' letter to the Secretary of State was written in response to a request from the current Ombudsman, Amerdeep Somal, who asked the committee chair to "to impress on [Gove] the need for a formal response to this review".
Somal also outlined a number of "minimum steps" she said were needed in order to improve access to its service.
The changes that she outlined partly echo the recommendations of the 2021 review and included a call to extend the Ombudsman's jurisdiction in relation to Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and Special Educational Needs and Disability provision.
Somal also announced that she plans to publish a revised Triennial Review before the end of 2024.
In his letter to Gove, Betts called on the Secretary of State to answer if and when his Department is preparing a response to the Triennial Review and when it might be published.
He asked for comment on whether Gove supports the introduction of mandatory signposting for all adult social care providers to ensure the public are aware of the LGSCO's service.
In addition, Betts asked whether Gove believes the Ombudsman's should be extended to allow the Ombudsman to consider the actions of a school fulfilling an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and complaints about Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision within a school for children and young people without an EHC plan.
He also asked whether parents, pupils, and carers should be given the right to an independent Ombudsman investigation of complaints that have not been adequately resolved by their school.
Finally, he asked for the Department's assessment of how the LGSCO's current jurisdiction reflects all relevant local government arrangements.
Betts called on Gove for a response to his letter by 29 April.
Adam Carey
