The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has published a report sharing lessons learned from investigations into complaints about special guardianship orders (SGOs).
The Ombudsman upholds a higher than average number of the complaints it receives about SGOs (70% in 2017-18) and sees some significant repeated mistakes being made by councils, often in relation to long-term financial support, and incorrectly calculated, changed and cut allowances.
The report draws on evidence and case studies from a review of all the complaints upheld about SGOs between 2015 and 2018, and offers advice to local authorities to ensure their policies and procedures properly support both existing and prospective special guardians.
Further details and a link to the report ‘Firm foundations: complaints about council support and advice for special guardians’ can be found on the LGO website.