Catalogue description Records of the Commission for Local Administration in England (Local Government Ombudsman)

The desirability of subjecting local administration to scrutiny was recognised in the late 1960s and an influential report by Justice, the British section of the International Commission of Jurists, (The Citizen and his Council - Ombudsman for Local Government, 1969) strongly argued the case for such a development. A White Paper, Local Government in England (Cmnd. 4584), laid before Parliament in 1971, accepted that arrangements for investigating citizens' complaints concerning local government ought to be made. The Department of the Environment circulated a consultation paper outlining proposals for legislation that relied heavily upon the statutory framework employed in the institution in 1967 of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. These proposals met with Parliamentary approval and the Local Government Act 1974 (Part III) introduced an ombudsman for local government in England and Wales with effect from 1 April 1974. The statute provided for the appointment of a number of Local Commissioners each responsible for a particular part of the country, who together with the Parliamentary Commissioner form a collegiate body known as the Commission for Local Administration in England. Identical arrangements were made for a Welsh Commissioner and a Commission for Local Administration in Wales.

Commissioners investigate written complaints made by any member of the public who claims to have sustained injustice in consequence of maladministration in connection with action taken by an authority subject to the Commissioners' jurisdiction. Local authorities, police and water authorities together with any joint board the constituents of which are local authorities were made subject to the Commissioners' scrutiny. This list was later extended to include the Commission for the New Towns, new town development corporations, urban development corporations, housing action trusts, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority, and the National Rivers Authority.

Whilst complaints can be made directly to Commissioners or through a councillor, the complaints will not be considered unless the council concerned has had the chance to investigate and reply. Personnel matters and commercial transactions are not covered unless they are connected with the sale or purchase of land. Complaints relating to maladministration prior to 1 April 1974 cannot be investigated and all complaints are referred to the Commission by the authority concerned in the complaint, or by a member of that authority. An investigation is not normally undertaken until the authority concerned has had a chance to use its own procedures to resolve the complaint locally.

The Commission consists of three local Commissioners, each of whom investigates complaints arising in a particular area of the country. In addition, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration is an ex-officio member of the Commission. Local Commissioners are appointed by HM the Queen on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for the Environment and hold office 'during good behaviour' and until the age of 65. The Commission appoints a secretary, assistant secretaries, investigating officers, and specialised staff to process complaints (the 'screening unit').