S3 EP3: Human Rights in Outsourced Services – World Day of Social Justice Podcast with LGSCO

To mark World Day of Social Justice, Season 3 of That OA Thing explores the human rights challenges that arise when public services are outsourced to private providers – an increasingly common feature of modern public service delivery.

We were pleased to welcome Evan Lerwill, Assistant Ombudsman at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) for England, who joined Donal Galligan, Chief Executive of the Ombudsman Association, for this special episode.

Together, Evan and Donal discuss:

• Why outsourcing matters for human rights – and the risks when providers delivering essential care aren’t held to the same rights-based standards as public bodies.
• The “accountability gap” highlighted in JUSTICE’s Beyond the Blame Game report, which found that individual rights are often overlooked when services are contracted out.
• How the LGSCO draws accountability back to commissioners, even when complaints involve private providers, and how their decisions influence wider regulators such as the CQC and EHRC.
• Real case examples, including breaches involving restricted autonomy, inappropriate medication, and limitations on family contact – all of which demonstrate how fragile rights protections can be in outsourced care settings.
• The challenges people face when trying to complain, from fear of repercussions to poor signposting and inconsistent complaint-handling standards.
• A call to action for better commissioning, including embedding rights protections into procurement, moving beyond cost-driven decisions, and using Ombudsman standards to shape fairer, safer contracts.

This episode highlights that social justice cannot be achieved without meaningful accountability, especially for people receiving care from organisations outside the public sector. Their rights, dignity, and wellbeing must remain central – regardless of who delivers the service.

Click on the links below to listen:
🎧 YouTube: https://youtu.be/bfCXdrvc7HY 
🎵 Spotify: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/6aScD5rrU0b

This episode is a must‑listen for anyone passionate about human rights, social justice, and strengthening fairness in outsourced public services across the ombudsman community and beyond.

Podcast Description Links (for episode page)

For Reports and Resources mentioned in this episode from Evan:

NOTES: If anything in this episode resonates with you, these links are a helpful starting point for further support, information, and context.

Evan’s links:

• Beyond the Blame Game: Rights-centred government contracting (main one)
   
• Ombudsman considers everyday human rights in new report - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
   
• Equal access for all should be at the heart of services, Ombudsman says - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

LGSCO Website:

• Managing complaints in contracted and commissioned services: a good practice guide - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman 
   
• Equal justice: learning lessons from complaints about people’s human rights - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
   
• What we can and cannot look at - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman