I am now nine months into the role of Ombudsman and it is a good time to take stock of progress so far and the areas of priority that are emerging both for me and the organisation as a whole.
I am a lawyer by training and, unlike my some of my predecessors, I was not involved in the delivery of local government or social care services prior to taking up this role. That gives me the ability to take a clear view, and over the last few months I have visited a variety of councils and spent time with adult social care provider organisations and have heard first-hand about the challenges they face. The pressures are acute, affecting organisations of all sizes and often coming as a result of significantly rising demand and a lack of sufficient resources. Sometimes the pressures are the result of national policy and wider change is needed to bring about improvements.
As well as looking at individual cases - and we have many coming in – the Ombudsman should also look at how local government and social care services affect society as a whole, and where the challenges are at a national level. I have done much of this over the last few months with a particular focus on special educational needs, adult social care and homelessness.
Our Local Government and Social Care Reviews, both published recently, talk about the national level issues we see and I have spent time with government Ministers, the Chairs of reviews and committees, and with wider organisations to share the evidence that comes from our casework and to encourage change. In November we will publish our Triennial Review – a report done every three years on the findings from our work – which will recommend a number of actions that would improve local services and the service we can provide to the public. As Ombudsman I will continue to work to make sure people’s voices are heard and that we strive for improvements despite the challenges we face. You can keep up to date through this newsletter and our website.
Amerdeep Somal,
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
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