The Ethics and Integrity Commission is not a regulatory body and does not investigate individual cases. You should contact the relevant ombudsman, regulator or standards body. For an explanation of the difference between these bodies, and how to contact them, please see below.
The difference between an ombudsman, a regulator, and a standards body lies in their function. An ombudsman resolves individual disputes; a regulator enforces rules across an industry to ensure compliance; and a standards body defines the codes of practice that must be followed.
Ombudsman (Redress): Focuses on “putting things right” for individuals. An ombudsman is an independent service that investigates and resolves complaints if local resolution was not satisfactory. Ombudsman schemes are free to use and impartial in their investigations. They aim to provide fair solutions – including apologies, service improvements or financial compensation – without the need to go to court.
There are two types of ombudsman services:
- Private Sector ombudsman schemes: cover financial and consumer complaints.
- Public Sector ombudsman schemes: cover public services and government organisations.
Regulator (Compliance): Focuses on “checking and acting” to ensure organisational compliance. Regulatory bodies are government appointed organisations that establish, monitor and enforce standards, rules and laws within specific industries to ensure compliance and public protection. A regulator is also a defined term in the Professional Qualifications Act. They operate independently to set industry policies, issue licenses and take action against non-compliant businesses.
Standards Body (Definition): Focuses on “setting the rules” to define good practice.
A detailed list of UK ombudsman schemes can be found below.
| Sector | What do they do? | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Public Sector Ombudsman Services | ||
| UK Government Departments, Public Organisations and NHS in England | Investigates complaints about government departments and the NHS in England. | The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman |
| Local Government and Social Care | Investigates complaints about councils (planning and building control, environment, waste services), adult social care, children’s services, transport and highways. | Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman |
| Housing | Resolves disputes between tenants, leaseholders and landlords. | Housing Ombudsman |
| Prisons | Investigates independent cases into death and complaints in custody or under community supervision. | Prisons and Probation Ombudsman |
| Private Sector Ombudsman Services | ||
| Finance | Resolves disputes with banking, insurance, PPI, loans, mortgages, pensions, fraud and scams. | Financial Ombudsman Service |
| Energy | Resolves complaints about gas and electricity suppliers. | Energy Ombudsman |
| Phone and Internet Providers | Investigates complaints with phone and internet providers. | Communications Ombudsman |
| Legal Services | Investigates complaints about service providers in the legal sector (solicitors, barristers, lawyers). | Legal Ombudsman |
| Automotive | Investigates complaints about vehicle sales, service or repairs. Focused solely on the automotive sector, including vehicle manufacturers, warranty product providers, franchised dealers, independent garages, networks and bodyshops. | Motor Ombudsman |
| Rail | Investigates complaints about train companies. | Rail Ombudsman |
| Retail Goods, Furniture and Home Improvements | Investigate organisations and consumers in the retail, furniture, and home improvement industries. | Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman |
| Pensions | Investigate complaints or disputes about pension schemes. | Pensions Ombudsman |
| Construction, Housing and New Homes | Investigates complaints about new homes. | New Homes Ombudsman |
| Education | Investigates complaints from students regarding higher education providers. | The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education |
| Property (estate agents, property surveys) | Investigates complaints from estate and letting agents. | Property Ombudsman |
| Armed Forces | Provides independent and impartial oversight of the Service Complaints system for members of the UK Armed Forces. | Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces |
| Waterways | Investigates complaints against the Canal and River Trust and the Avon Navigation Trust. | The Waterways Ombudsman |
A list of UK regulated professions can be found here and the regulatory bodies are detailed below.
| Sector | What do they do? | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Bodies | ||
| Education | A UK government ministerial department responsible for children’s services, education (early years to further/higher education), apprenticeships, and wider skills in England. It sets policy, legislation, and statutory guidance to ensure high-quality education and child protection while promoting equal opportunity. | Department for Education |
| (TRA) is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Education, and are responsible for regulating the teaching profession. | Teaching Regulation Agency | |
| Healthcare | Work with doctors, physician associates, those they care for and other stakeholders to support good, safe patient care across the UK. | General Medical Council |
| Protect patient safety and maintain public confidence in dental professions. | General Dental Council | |
| Protect the public by upholding high standards in eye care services in the UK. | General Optical Council | |
| Independent regulator for nurses and midwives in the UK, and nursing associates in England. | The Nursing and Midwifery Council | |
| Work with osteopaths, patients and partner organisations to support safe, high quality patient care to maintain public confidence in osteopathy by protecting the reputation of the osteopathic profession. | General Osteopathic Council | |
| The regulator for pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain to protect the public who use pharmacy services. | General Pharmaceutical Council | |
| Legal | Representative body for barristers in England and Wales. | The General Council of the Bar |
| Professional body made up of paralegals, lawyers and other specialist legal professionals in England and Wales. | Chartered Institute of Legal Executives | |
| Regulates Costs Lawyers in England and Wales to protect the interests of consumers and the wider public. | Costs Lawyer Standards Board | |
| The approved regulator of the notarial profession. | The Master of the Faculties | |
| Deliver regulation of specialist conveyancing and probate lawyers that protects consumers. | Council for Licensed Conveyancers | |
| Regulates solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, protecting the public by setting high professional standards, enforcing rules of conduct and taking action against misconduct. | Solicitors Regulation Authority | |
| Professional and Business Services | A professional body for chartered accountants. | Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales |
| Regulates the architects’ profession in the UK to ensure that good standards of conduct and practice are consistently maintained.
Established by Parliament as a statutory body and are accountable to government. |
Architects Registration Board | |
| Regulate auditors, accountants, actuaries and set the UK’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. | Financial Reporting Council | |
| Social Care | Regulates social workers in England, sets standards, holds a register, quality assures education and investigates complaints. | Social Work England |
| Transport | The MCA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Transport.
Responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent marine pollution. |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
| The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation that oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the UK, focusing on safety, security, consumer protection, and airspace policy. | Civil Aviation Authority | |
| The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is the UK government organisation responsible for maintaining secure databases of drivers and vehicles. | Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | |
| Maintains records of qualified operatives and supervisors authorised to perform street works in the UK under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA). | Street Works Qualification Register | |
| The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways and the monitor of National Highways in England. It protects user interests by enforcing safety standards, regulating Network Rail’s performance and funding, ensuring fair access to tracks, and enforcing consumer protection. | Office for Rail and Road | |
| The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain are independent regulators responsible for licensing and regulating operators of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs/coaches and buses). They promote road safety, ensure fair competition, and register local bus services. They also conduct public inquiries and take disciplinary action against operators or drivers. | Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain | |
| Other Professions | The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent government department responsible for regulating food safety and hygiene across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It ensures food is safe, labelled accurately, and healthier, while supporting trade. The FSA sets safety standards, investigates risks, and operates the food hygiene rating system. | Food Standards Agency |
| The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national independent regulator for workplace health, safety, and welfare, acting to prevent death, injury, and ill health. It enforces health and safety legislation, conducts inspections and investigations, provides guidance to businesses, and raises awareness of hazards. | Health and Safety Executive | |
| The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the UK’s independent regulator for the private security industry, established under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. It protects the public by compulsory licensing of security individuals, managing the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) for businesses, and setting high standards of competence and integrity. | Security Industry Authority | |
| The Farriers Registration Council (FRC) is the statutory body in Great Britain that regulates the farriery profession to prevent animal suffering by ensuring only qualified individuals shoe horses. It maintains the Register of Farriers, sets professional conduct standards, approves training qualifications, and investigates complaints against farriers. | Farriers Registration Council | |
| The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a UK government executive agency that safeguards animal, plant, and bee health for the environment, economy, and public. It identifies and controls pests and diseases, manages imports/exports, ensures animal welfare, and conducts scientific research to combat emerging threats. | Animal and Plant Health Agency | |
| Setting professional standards, overseeing veterinary education, and protecting both public and animal welfare through effective regulation of the veterinary profession. | Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons | |
A list of standards bodies can be found below.
| Sector | What do they do? | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Central government standards bodies
|
The Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards is appointed by the Prime Minister to advise him on matters relating to the Ministerial Code. The post holder is independent of the government and expected to provide impartial advice to the Prime Minister. | Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards |
| The Civil Service Commission regulates recruitment into the Civil Service and is the final appeal body for complaints under the Civil Service Code. The Commission also provides independent advice on applications under the government’s Business Appointment Rules for Senior Civil Servants and Special Advisors. | First Civil Service Commissioner | |
| The Commissioner provides independent assurance that public appointments are made in accordance with the Governance Code and with the Principles of Public Appointments: ministerial responsibility, selflessness, integrity, merit, openness, diversity, assurance and fairness. The Commissioner’s functions are set out in the Public Appointments Order in Council. | Commissioner for Public Appointments | |
| The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory body established in 2000 that vets all UK political nominations for life peerages for propriety and selects non-party-political (crossbench) members. It ensures nominees are in good standing, though its advice can be disregarded by the Prime Minister. | House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) | |
| Parliamentary standards bodies
|
The Commissioner is responsible for monitoring the operation of the House of Commons Code of Conduct and Registers (including investigating alleged breaches). Key duties include managing the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, advising on the Code of Conduct, and investigating alleged breaches of conduct or bullying/harassment by MPs, reporting findings to the Committee on Standards. | Commons Commissioner for Standards |
| The House of Lords Commissioners for Standards are independent officers who investigate alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct by members of the House of Lords and their staff. They examine complaints regarding the misuse of expenses, failure to declare interests, bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct, reporting findings to the Conduct Committee. | Lords Commissioners for Standards
|
|
| The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is the independent body in the UK that regulates and administers the business costs, expenses, pay, and pensions of650 MPs and their staff. Created in 2009, it ensures transparency by publishing spending data and setting rules to manage taxpayers’ money, independent of Parliament and government influence. | Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) | |
| Other bodies | The Registrar considers that transparent, ethical lobbying can contribute to effective public policy making. The work of the Office of the Registrar supports this by putting the activities of consultant lobbyists into the public domain. | Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
|
| The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity. | Electoral Commission | |
| The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body at arm’s length from government. They have a statutory objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that ‘serve the public good’. | UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) |
The Ethics and Integrity Commission does not have the authority to over-rule findings made by an ombudsman, regulator or standards body and we cannot reinvestigate individual cases.
We will make a note of your concerns and will feed them into relevant review(s) if we believe that they are evidence of wider systemic failings beyond your individual case.
The Ethics and Integrity Commission is not a regulatory body and does not investigate individual cases.
The involvement of multiple organisations in a single case does not, on its own, indicate systemic failings. For an issue to be considered systemic, there would usually need to be evidence that the same or similar problems are occurring repeatedly across multiple cases and affecting different people, rather than arising from the specific circumstances of one individual case.
We consider concerns about potential systemic failings on a case-by-case basis.
In general, we would usually need evidence or submissions from multiple independent sources rather than concerns raised by a single individual alone, in order to establish whether there may genuinely be a wider systemic issue. This helps us distinguish between problems arising from the particular circumstances of one case and broader patterns affecting multiple people or organisations.
Where appropriate, we may consider the information provided by you alongside other evidence, intelligence or concerns already known to us when deciding whether further work may be warranted.
We log and consider information about individual cases and concerns that are brought to our attention. The team monitors this information to identify whether any broader patterns, recurring risks or emerging risks appear to be developing over time.
Where potential systemic concerns are identified, we may engage with relevant organisations, regulators or oversight bodies to better understand the issue and any action already being taken. The Commission may then consider whether the matter warrants further examination, including the possibility of a future review or other work.
However, we do not automatically investigate every issue raised with us and we cannot guarantee that concerns brought to our attention will result in a formal review.
Citizens Advice is a network of independent UK charities providing free, confidential, impartial and independent advice on a wide range of topics and support.
For support from an elected representative, contact your local MP or local Councillor
Gov.uk provides detailed information on how to find government services and information.
The Network of Standards Bodies convenes central government and Parliamentary organisations to maintain a system-wide overview of standards in public life. It evaluates whether institutional remits address cross-cutting issues sufficiently; shares best practice; and identifies areas of common concern to strengthen integrity across the whole system.
The terms of reference for the Network of Standards Body can be found here.
The Ethics and Integrity Commission does not comment on news stories, live inquiries or investigations.