Complain about a local council's involvement with your family

Summary

Here are some examples of things you might want to complain about: * an unfair decision about a member of your family * a delay in providing necessary services, including delays in assessing someone’s needs * how the local council delivers services to your family. For example, the local council might have failed to provide a service that meets your cultural or language needs * the attitude or behaviour of an individual social worker * unfair treatment by a social worker, for example because of your sexual orientation or disability. This might amount to discrimination which is against the law * the way a child protection conference was run * the facts the local council based a decision on were wrong The following people can use an official complaints procedure to complain about the local council: * a child - if they have enough understanding * the parent of a child, or anyone with parental responsibility * anyone else who the local council thinks has sufficient interest in the welfare of a child Before making a complaint, you need to be clear about what outcome you want. You might want to highlight what you see as bad practice so other people don’t have the same experience you had.

Key information

• •an unfair decision about a member of your family
• •a delay in making a decision
• •a delay in providing necessary services, including delays in assessing someone’s needs
• •how the local council delivers services to your family. For example, the local council might have failed to provide a service that meets your cultural or language needs
• •the attitude or behaviour of an individual social worker
• •unfair treatment by a social worker, for example because of your sexual orientation or disability. This might amount to discrimination which is against the law
• •the way a child protection conference was run
• •the facts the local council based a decision on were wrong
• •a child - if they have enough understanding
• •the parent of a child, or anyone with parental responsibility
• •anyone else who the local council thinks has sufficient interest in the welfare of a child
• •complain to the Information Commissioner's Office on their website \- if it’s about a refusal to give you access to records

Practical guidance

• •Source: [Complain about a local council's involvement with your family](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/local-council-support-for-children-and-families/complain-about-a-local-councils-involvement-with-your-family/)

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