Your Rights Against Public Bodies
Councils, government departments, NHS bodies, regulators and other public bodies take decisions that shape daily life — benefits, housing, planning, licensing, social care and more. Public law requires those decisions to be lawful, rational and procedurally fair, and gives you a toolkit when they are not: the body's own complaints process, freedom of information requests, the ombudsmen, the Human Rights Act, and ultimately judicial review in the High Court. The tools have strict time limits — judicial review must normally be started within three months, and ombudsman complaints within twelve — so it pays to understand your rights early.
Last updated: 2026-07-31
Your Rights
Right to Lawful Decision-Making
Public bodies are generally only free to do what the law says they can do. Almost every decision a council, department or agency takes must be authorised by legislation that defines the limits of its powers, and the body must correctly understand and apply that law. If it does not, the resulting decision, act or failure to act is unlawful and can be challenged by judicial review — the procedure for reviewing the lawfulness of a decision, action or failure to act in the exercise of a public function.
Right to Rational and Procedurally Fair Decisions
The courts can quash a decision so demonstrably unreasonable as to be irrational or perverse — the test is whether it is so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could ever have come to it. You are also entitled to procedural fairness: to know the case against you, to have a proper opportunity to put your case, and to a decision-maker who is impartial and free from any appearance of bias, such as a financial interest in the outcome.
Right to Be Consulted
A public body may be under a duty to consult people affected before it decides — because legislation requires it, or because past practice has created a reasonable expectation of consultation. Government consultations must follow the Cabinet Office Consultation Principles: consult while plans are still at a formative stage, give enough information for informed responses, allow a proportionate amount of time, and take the responses into account. Consulting on an issue that is already decided breaches those principles and can make the decision unlawful.
Right to Openness and Reasons
Under the Ombudsman's Principles of Good Administration, public bodies should be open and truthful when accounting for their decisions and actions, should state their criteria for decision-making and give reasons for their decisions, and should handle information as openly as the law allows. A decision with no explanation is much harder to accept — and much easier to challenge as maladministration.
Right Not to Have Your Human Rights Breached
It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a right under the European Convention on Human Rights. 'Public authority' includes courts, tribunals and any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature — so a private company can be covered when it performs public functions — and 'an act' includes a failure to act. You can rely on Convention rights when challenging a public body's conduct.
Right to Request Information (FOI and EIR)
Any person making a request to a public authority is entitled to be told in writing whether it holds the information requested and, subject to exemptions, to have it communicated. The authority must comply promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day after receipt. Environmental information is covered by the Environmental Information Regulations, which also apply to some private companies with public responsibilities, such as water companies.
Right to Bring a Judicial Review Claim
Any individual, company or organisation with a 'sufficient interest' in the matter can ask the High Court to review the lawfulness of a public body's decision or conduct. You need the court's permission to proceed, and the claim form must be filed promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds first arose. That time limit cannot be extended by agreement between the parties, and some claims — such as planning challenges — have shorter limits.
Right to Effective Remedies
If a judicial review succeeds, the court can make a quashing order (setting the decision aside so it has no legal effect), a mandatory order compelling the body to act, a prohibiting order, a declaration or an injunction, and will generally remit the matter for a fresh, lawful decision. Damages are available only in limited circumstances. Outside court, an ombudsman who finds maladministration can recommend explanations, apologies and action to put things right — free of charge.
Common Myths
Judicial review means the court will re-take the decision if it thinks it was wrong.
Judicial review tests lawfulness, not merits. The irrationality threshold is very high — the decision must be so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could ever have come to it — and after quashing a decision the court will generally send it back to the public body to decide again lawfully rather than substitute its own view.
You always have a full three months to start a judicial review.
Three months is a long-stop, not an entitlement. The claim must be filed promptly, and even a claim brought within three months can be out of time if it was not started promptly. The limits cannot be extended by agreement between the parties, and planning challenges must be filed within six weeks.
You can take a complaint straight to the ombudsman.
Ombudsmen are the final stage. You must normally complete the organisation's own complaints process first — the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman cannot look at your complaint before that happens, and complaints must usually be made within 12 months of when you first knew of the problem. Complaints about UK government departments must also be referred to the PHSO by an MP.
Freedom of information requests are only for journalists, or you must explain why you want the information.
Any person making a request is entitled to the information, subject to exemptions — you do not need to be a journalist or give a reason. But a request made to punish a public body rather than to obtain information can be refused as vexatious.
If you win a judicial review you will get compensation.
Damages are the exception, not the rule. The court may award them only where the claim includes a damages claim and it is satisfied damages would have been awarded in an ordinary civil action. The court must also refuse relief altogether if it is highly likely the outcome for you would not have been substantially different without the unlawfulness.
What To Do
Diarise the Deadline
Work out when the grounds for challenge first arose and count forward: a judicial review claim must be filed promptly and in any event within 3 months (six weeks for planning decisions). Complaints, FOI requests and pre-action letters all need to fit inside that window if court action may be needed.
Use the Body's Own Process First
Ask the public body to review its decision and use its complaints procedure or any statutory appeal route. Judicial review is a last resort — it should only be used where no adequate alternative remedy, such as a right of appeal, is available — and ombudsmen cannot look at your complaint until the organisation has had the chance to put things right.
Get the Paperwork with an FOI or EIR Request
Request the records behind the decision — reports, minutes, policies and correspondence. Keep the request clear, simple and separate from any ongoing complaint. The authority must respond within 20 working days.
Send a Letter Before Claim
If judicial review may be needed, send the body a letter before claim in the Pre-Action Protocol's standard format in good time before filing. Its purpose is to identify the issues in dispute and establish whether they can be narrowed or litigation avoided. Defendants should normally respond within 14 days.
Escalate to the Right Ombudsman
For councils and adult social care, complain free of charge to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. For UK government departments and the NHS in England, use the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman — complaints about government departments must be referred by your MP, so ask your constituency MP to sign your complaint form.
Take Advice on Permission, Standing and Costs
Before filing a claim, get legal advice on whether you have a sufficient interest, arguable grounds and a realistic costs plan. Legal aid may cover the pre-action stage for eligible claimants, and the court will ensure unrepresented parties are treated fairly — but the costs risk in judicial review is real.
Key Legislation
- Senior Courts Act 1981, s.31
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 54 and the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review
- Human Rights Act 1998, s.6
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
- Environmental Information Regulations 2004
- Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967
- Local Government Act 1974, Part III
Useful Contacts
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
Free, independent investigation of complaints about councils and adult social care providers in England, after the organisation's own complaints process.
WebsiteParliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
Final stage for unresolved complaints about UK government departments and the NHS in England. Free and open to everyone; departmental complaints need an MP referral.
Tel: 0345 015 4033
WebsiteInformation Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Regulator for FOI and EIR requests — helpline advice on making information requests and complaining about responses.
Tel: 0303 123 1113
WebsitePublic Law Project
Charity publishing free plain-English guides to judicial review and helping people obtain public law remedies.
WebsiteCitizens Advice
Free, confidential advice on challenging decisions by councils and government departments.
Tel: 0800 144 8848
Website