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How to complain about adult social care in England

A person considering complaining about adult social care in England would be advised to seek specialist advice tailored to the specific circumstances of their case. They may, for example, like to contact organisations such as:

• Age UK
• Independent Age
• Mind
• Scope

Where to complain about adult social care

If somebody has concerns about services provided by a social care provider, they should generally raise these with the provider in the first instance. Regulated social care providers must have a system for receiving and responding to complaints.

If the local authority is involved in arranging and/or funding a person’s care, a complaint about a provider can also be made to the local authority.

Complaints can also be made directly to the local authority where they relate to a decision of the local authority regarding a person’s social care (for example, about care planning).

Under the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, local authorities in England are required to have a procedure for dealing with complaints about their social services functions.

Although procedures can vary, they usually include two or more stages. At each stage the council will normally send a written response and invite the complainant to comment. The council will usually tell the complainant when it writes to them if there is another stage of the procedure.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If a person is still unhappy after completing the provider’s and/or local authority’s complaints process, they can raise the matter with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Usually, complaints to the ombudsman should be made within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the matter they are complaining about.

Further information is available on the ombudsman’s website at: how to complain.

The ombudsman has also published a guide setting out how local authorities should handle complaints about adult social care.

Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the regulator of health and social care in England. All providers of adult social care who carry out “regulated activities”, including providing personal care or operating a care home, are required to register with the CQC and demonstrate they meet fundamental standards set out in regulations.

The CQC does not investigate or resolve individual complaints. However, it is possible for people to raise concerns about a service with the CQC, which is different to raising a complaint. The CQC uses such information to build a picture of a service, alongside other information such as what it found when it last carried out an inspection. Further information is available on the CQC’s website at: Give feedback on care.

The CQC has a range of enforcement powers which it can use against providers who are in breach of regulations. This includes, for example, serving warning notices or cancelling a provider’s registration. Further information is provided in the CQC’s enforcement policy.

Further information

If somebody has raised their concerns with the above bodies but remains dissatisfied, they may like to seek advice on whether there is any scope to issue legal proceedings. The Library briefing on how to find and pay for legal help may be useful.

If an individual wants to complain about NHS care and treatment in England, including NHS Continuing Healthcare, there is a separate Library briefing on this.

Information on paying for adult social care in England can be found in a separate Commons Library briefing.