A public body may operate several entirely different procedures. The right route depends on the function it was performing, the decision or failure being challenged, and the remedy required.
Key points
- A complaint, statutory review, tribunal appeal, ombudsman investigation and judicial review are not interchangeable.
- Protect the route that can change the decision before pursuing complaint handling alone.
- Separate the underlying decision from delay, record errors, discrimination and complaint handling.
- FOI, EIR and subject access requests provide different kinds of information.
- Ombudsmen examine eligible administrative fault and injustice. They are not general appeal courts.
Start with the problem
What do you need the public body to do?
Council or local-authority problemComplaints, statutory officers, constitutions, governance, social care, Council Tax, highways, planning and LGSCO.NHS or healthcare complaintProvider and commissioner complaints, PSO, professional regulation, records and clinical-negligence routes.Government department or agencyInternal complaints, statutory review, tribunal and PSO routes.A decision must be changedIdentify the review, appeal, tribunal or court with power to change it.The body is delaying or not actingClassify the deadline, require a decision date and preserve urgent remedies.Access, discrimination or adjustmentsEquality Act duties in services, public functions and complaint systems.You need recorded public informationFOI, EIR, internal review and Information Commission routes.The information is about youSARs, accuracy, rectification, restriction and data-protection complaints.
Choose the system
Which public-service route are you dealing with?
Councils & Local GovernmentThe detailed local-authority hub, organised by the function the council was performing.Health & NHSHealth-service complaints, records, regulators and PSO escalation.Government departmentsDepartmental complaints and PSO jurisdiction.Children’s social careThe statutory three-stage complaint procedure where it applies.Adult social careThe statutory single-stage complaint framework and LGSCO.Public Service OmbudsmanEligible complaints about UK government services and the NHS in England.LGSCOEligible complaints about councils and adult social-care providers.Regulators and ombudsmenFind the body with the correct jurisdiction and remedy.
Route map
Complaint, appeal, ombudsman or court?
| What you need | Route to check | Main caution |
|---|---|---|
| An explanation, apology, correction or service remedy | Internal complaint | It may not change a statutory decision |
| A public decision reconsidered under its governing scheme | Review, reconsideration or statutory appeal | Protect the stated deadline |
| Independent investigation of unresolved maladministration | LGSCO or PSO where eligible | Jurisdiction and alternative remedies matter |
| Recorded public information | FOI or EIR | Use a SAR for your own personal data |
| Correction of inaccurate personal data | Rectification and data-protection complaint | This may not change the substantive decision |
| Urgent challenge to alleged unlawfulness | Specialist advice about appeal or judicial review | Court limits can run during complaints |
Information rights
FOI, EIR and personal-data routes
Freedom of InformationRequest recorded information held by public authorities.FOI deadlinesCalculate and track the usual working-day period and permitted variations.FOI exemptionsUnderstand refusal notices, absolute and qualified exemptions and the public-interest test.FOI internal reviewsChallenge the handling or outcome before complaining to the Information Commission.Environmental informationUse the separate EIR regime and its statutory reconsideration process.Scotland and FOISAThe separate Scottish freedom-of-information framework.Your personal dataUse data-protection rights rather than FOI to obtain information about yourself.Correct council recordsRectification, annotations, restrictions and related complaint routes.
Build the record
Keep the decision, procedure and impact separate
- Decision file
Keep the application, evidence, policy, decision notice and review rights. - Complaint file
Keep each numbered issue, acknowledgement, response and promised action. - Deadline sheet
Record appeal, review, ombudsman, information-rights and court dates independently. - Impact evidence
Show the financial, practical, health or procedural consequence of the alleged fault. - Route table
State what each organisation has been asked to decide and what it can remedy.
Official sources
Check the framework before relying on a route
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
- Public Service Ombudsman
- Information Commission
- Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review
Always check the current decision notice, local procedure and official source. Territorial scope, commencement, exceptions and the facts can change the route.