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Appeals and complaints to your local authority

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If you have a complaint about the care you have received or want to make an appeal about a decision regarding your care, we help explains your rights.

The factsheet How to resolve problems and make a complaint about the local authority provides information on the new joint health and social care complaints procedure.

It outlines other ways of resolving problems and making complaints, and provides information on service users’ rights.

Examples of complaints could be:

  • The local authority has assessed you as not needing a service but you believe you need it
  • There have been delays or errors in dealing with your case
  • The services arranged for you are not satisfactory

If your care is provided by an independent agency on behalf of the council, you can still complain to the council about any difficulties, as the council remains responsible for ensuring that you receive suitable care.

The factsheet should be read in conjunction with Age UK's other factsheets on social care.

The information is correct for the period April 2009 – March 2010. Capital limits and other figures are expected to increase again in April 2010 but rules and figures sometimes change during the year.

opens link in new window Download How to resolve problems and make a complaint about the local authority (PDF 228 KB)

We are grateful for the generous support of Dr Naim Dangoor CBE
and the Exilarch Foundation

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Useful information to download

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Downloads

What is a download?

A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

What is a PDF?

PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have set their computer up).

How do I download a PDF?

Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

The process is quite straightforward and is free.

  1. Go to opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
  2. Click ‘Download’.
  3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
  4. Click ‘Next’.
  5. Click ‘Install’
  6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

How do I change a download?

PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

How do I print or save a download?

Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

  • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
  • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
  • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
  • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
  • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E

You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

  • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
  • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
  • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.

You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

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