Time: 1000 – 1700
Date: Thursday 22 October 2026
Location: PCH
This event is designed to give Members and Members’ staff the opportunity to engage directly with a range of external bodies that support you in your casework. This is a unique opportunity to connect with representatives from a range of Government Departments and external organisations.
What to expect
- Gain insights into the correspondence procedures and working practices of various Government departments;
- Ask questions and explore how organisations can best support you with your casework;
- Build relationships with key contacts across Government departments and external bodies;
- Due to the open nature of the event, colleagues will not be able to discuss specific cases. The event is not set up for confidential conversations.
For full details, to register, and to see a list of exhibitors, please see this article on Parlinet.
Open to Members of Parliament and their staff.
The Public Service Ombudsman (formerly known as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman) independently investigates complaints about UK government departments, other public organisations, and the NHS in England.
Complaining can be complicated for some people. If you are a Member of Parliament, or work for one, we want to help equip you with all the skills to help you, your colleagues and your constituents navigate the process.
You will learn:
- what the Ombudsman does and the barriers to complaining
- the statutory requirement for MPs to refer complaints from their constituents to the PSO
- how the PSO can work with you to improve access to justice for your constituents
- how you can work with the PSO to hold government departments, public bodies and NHS organisations to account
Book your place via ACT
For MPs and their staff.
Time: 0900-1700 – drop in, no need to book a slot
Date: Tuesday 27 January 2026
Location: Member Hub, Portcullis House
Come along and meet the Ombudsman directly to find out more about the complaints process, meet with PHSO colleagues, including Senior Caseworkers and the Policy and Public Affairs Team and learn how the team can help improve public services for your constituents
For more information on meeting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, visit ParliNet.
Time: 1000 – 1200
Date: 7 January 2026
Location: Online via MS Teams
Booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=2573
This is a joint workshop from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) independently investigates complaints about the NHS, UK government departments, and other public organisations in England.
Constituents often have issues that require the services of more than one Ombudsman, so the PHSO has partnered with the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to offer this workshop. This workshop will explain:
- What an Ombudsman does
- How to find the right Ombudsman for your complaint
- What each of our organisations can and can’t investigate
- The journey of a complaint at each organisation
Time: 14:30-15:30
Date: 4 June 2025
Location: Teams
With Donal Galligan (Chief Executive of the Ombudsman Association) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) staff, as well as Library specialists covering different ombudsman schemes
Also: Digital Services staff will give a quick update on the Register of Interests for Members Staff service
To register, please visit https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is a free, independent service which can investigate individual complaints about councils, all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) and some other public service organisations. If they decide to investigate, they look at whether organisations have made decisions the right way.
Before making a complaint to the LGSCO, the constituent must first complain to the organisation involved to give them a chance to resolve the issue. They must go through all of the stages of that organisation’s complaints process, and the LGSCO’s website lists some tips for making a complaint. If, after the organisation’s complaint process has been completed, and the constituent is still not satisfied, then they can complain to the LGSCO – but only if it is a matter which they are able to investigate. The LGSCO will not investigate unless the organisation’s complaint process has been completed.
The types of issue the LGSCO can investigate include
- Adult social care
- Children’s Services
- Education
- Housing
- Benefits and tax
- Planning and building control
- Environment, regulation and waste services
- Transport and highways
- Leisure and culture
- Corporate services, elected members and personnel
You should check on the LGSCO website to make sure that the matter you wish to raise is one that they cover.
The best way to make a complaint to the LGSCO is for the constituent to fill in the complaint form on their website: https://www.lgo.org.uk/how-to-complain It is better that the constituent does this themselves, if possible – it’s quite simple and does not need to be an essay, just a paragraph will do. It is preferable to use the online system, so that it keeps the telephone line free for those who are not able to go online.
Those who are not able to use the online system may telephone 0300 061 0614 to speak to an adviser.
The telephone line is open:
Mondays 10am till 1pm
Tuesdays 10am till 1pm
Wednesdays 1pm till 4pm
Thursdays 10am till 1pm
Fridays 10am till 1pm
W4MP is not responsible for the contents or reliability of the linked websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing shall not be taken as endorsement of any kind.
We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over availability of the linked pages. We gave this list a pretty thorough checkover on 2 March 2020 but let us know if you spot anything vital missing or wrong; use the Feedback Form.
UK Government Departments
(revised 2 March 2020)
Ministerial Departments
Since departments are reorganised from time to time, rather than list them all here, we are providing you with this general link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities
In the UK, salaries are always quoted as gross and figuring out your take home net pay or gross to net salary is your responsibility. Money Saving Expert’s Income Tax Calculator calculates your take-home pay, income tax and National Insurance contributions.
UK Political Parties
(revised 2 March 2020)
Any list we provide inevitably gets out of date so, instead, here are some links which get updated regularly:
UK Parliaments, Assemblies etc
(revised 2 March 2020)
Political resources
(revised 2 March 2020)
Political blogs and online publications
(these come and go at an alarming rate so no apologies if some of them are deceased)(last updated 2 March 2020)
Media sites
(revised 2 March 2020)
Ombudsmen and Commissioners
(revised 2 March 2020)
Organisations
(revised 2 March 2020)
Citizenship
(revised 2 March 2020)
Think Tanks
(revised 2 March 2020)
E-Democracy sites
(revised 2 March 2020)
Humorous Sites
(revised 2 March 2020)
European Parliaments
(revised 2 March 2020)
Global National Parliaments
(revised 2 March 2020)
