The Government has written to councils across England encouraging them to take up our Complaints Handling Code within their own complaints handling processes.

As part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's (MHCLG) response to our Triannual Review, council leaders will have received a letter highlighting the positive benefits of good complaint handling and encouraging them to adopt our Code.

In her letter, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government commented positively on the work the Ombudsman does to hold local authorities to account when things go wrong and our "ongoing work to deliver fair, effective and efficient investigations into the many valid complaints brought to you by members of the public."

The Baroness also responded positively to three of the requests we have made to government to improve local redress for people in England, including:

• Simplified legislation to give clear, straightforward powers of investigation for all local government services
• Mandatory signposting by (independent) adult social care providers to our service
• Giving us the power to investigate the implementation of Education, Health and Care Plans, support for children with additional needs, admissions and exclusions in schools

Our Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal, said:

"We welcome the Government's encouraging response to the proposals contained within our Triennial Review and its support for our Complaint Handling Code.

"I look forward to working positively with the Ministry in future to improve local complaints processes and ensure they reflect the significant changes happening in local government at the moment."

Read more about the Code