Template Letters

Finding the right words when writing to official bodies can be difficult. We’ve created a series of template letters to make it less daunting for you write to your local council or health body if you need to ask for information or make a complaint.

Template Letters Legal Cerebra.

Template Letters

Finding the right words when writing to official bodies can be difficult. We’ve created a series of template letters to make it less daunting for you write to your local council or health body if you need to ask for information or make a complaint.

There are different letter templates for England, Wales and Scotland and they cover a numbers of topics. They aim to make your letters more effective.

  • A-Z of All Template Letters
  • Assessments and Care Plans
  • Education
  • General Letters
  • NHS Continence Services
  • NHS Patient Transport Services
  • School Transport
  • Transition

We want to make a complaint about a council/health body

England | General Letters | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

You can use this letter to make a complaint about a council or health body, for example if you’re unhappy with the amount of support available to your family or the way decisions have been made.

Find out more and download

Council and/or health officials are arguing about who’s responsible for helping us

England | General Letters | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

If the authorities can’t agree on who’s responsible for helping your family, don’t try and work it out yourself – use our template letter to complain about them both for failing to work together.

Find out more and download

We want something confirmed in writing

England | General Letters | Template Letter | Wales

If you think an official has told you something that’s incorrect or inappropriate, you can use this letter to ask the council/health body to confirm whether the comment is true or not.

Find out more and download

The council has adopted a fixed policy and says ‘we don’t/can’t do that’ (‘fettering discretion’)

England | General Letters | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

Public bodies shouldn’t adopt rigid policies which prevent them from exercising their powers in individual cases (the legal term for this is ‘fettering discretion’). Use this letter to ask the council to confirm in writing what their policy is.

Find out more and download

We want to see the personal information that the council/health body holds about us

England | General Letters | Template Letter | Wales

You have the right to ask any organisation that processes your personal data for a copy of the information they hold about you. This is known as a ‘subject access request’. Use this letter to make a request.

Find out more and download

We want to ask for information under the Freedom of Information Act

England | General Letters | Template Letter | Wales

You have a right to request any recorded information held by a public authority. This is known as a ‘Freedom of Information request’. Some information may not be given to you because it is ‘exempt’, for example because it would unfairly reveal personal details about somebody else. Use this letter to make a Freedom of Information request.

Find out more and download

We haven’t had an answer to our first letter

England | General Letters | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter if you need to chase a public body for its response to previous correspondence.

Find out more and download

We want something confirmed in writing

General Letters | Scotland | Template Letter

If you think an official has told you something that’s incorrect or inappropriate, you can use this letter to ask the council/health body to confirm whether the comment is true or not.

Find out more and download

We want to ask for an assessment of our family’s needs (England)

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter

Use this letter to ask for an assessment of your child’s needs or your needs as a carer.

Find out more and download

We want to ask for an assessment of our family’s needs

Assessments and Care Plans | Scotland | Template Letter

Use this letter to ask for an assessment of your child’s needs or your needs as a carer if you are in Scotland.

Find out more and download

We want to ask for an assessment of our family’s needs (Wales)

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to ask for an assessment of your child’s needs or your needs as a carer if you are in Wales.

Find out more and download

The council still hasn’t completed our assessment or provided any interim support

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to make a formal complaint about delays in completing an assessment of your child’s needs (or your needs as a carer) and/or putting interim support in place.

Find out more and download

The council still hasn’t completed our assessment or provided any interim support

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter

Use this letter to make a formal complaint about delays in completing an assessment of your child’s needs (or your needs as a carer) and/or putting interim support in place in England.

Find out more and download

The council wants to reduce our child’s package of care

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to complain about a proposed cut in your child’s care package.

Find out more and download

The council says that our child isn’t eligible for support

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

Councils in Wales must be able to show that they’ve reached a decision fairly and rationally – use this letter to find out why the council has decided that your child isn’t eligible for support.

Find out more and download

The council won’t provide support because it says that we can meet our child’s needs ourselves

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

You can use this letter if the council has assessed your child and told you that you’re not eligible for support, because it believes that you’re able to meet your child’s needs yourself.

Find out more and download

The council is proposing another assessment, which puts us in an impossible position

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

If your (or your child’s) needs have been assessed but you’ve been waiting a long time for support, the council might say that it needs to do a new assessment before it can progress your case. If you’re worried that agreeing to a new assessment will cause delay, but refusing will label you as ‘uncooperative’, use this letter to get your concerns on the record.

Find out more and download

We’re still waiting for a care plan

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter if the council has assessed your family and agrees you need support, but hasn’t given you a written care plan explaining how that support will be provided in practice.

Find out more and download

The council says it can’t provide educational support because of a lack of resources

Education | Scotland | Template Letter

Use this letter if the council tells you that it doesn’t have the resources to provide the educational support that your child needs.

Find out more and download

I want to ask for an assessment of my child’s needs at school

Education | Scotland | Template Letter

Use this letter to ask the council to assess your child’s additional support needs.

Find out more and download

I want to find out whether my child needs a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)

Education | Scotland | Template Letter

Use this letter to ask the council to consider whether or not your child needs a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP).

Find out more and download

I want to ask for a review of my child’s Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)

Education | Scotland | Template Letter

You can use this letter to ask the council to review your child’s existing Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP).

Find out more and download

The council says that our child isn’t eligible for support

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter

Councils must be able to show that they’ve reached a decision fairly and rationally – use this letter to find out why the council has decided that your child isn’t eligible for support.

Find out more and download

We’re not getting the type of continence products that our child needs

NHS Continence Services | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to complain that your local continence service isn’t providing suitable continence products for your child.

Find out more and download

We’re not getting the type of continence products that our child needs

England | NHS Continence Services | Template Letter

Use this letter to complain that your local continence service isn’t providing suitable continence products for your child.

Find out more and download

We’re not getting enough continence products to meet our child’s needs

NHS Continence Services | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to complain that your local continence service isn’t providing enough pads/nappies to meet your child’s needs.

Find out more and download

We’ve been told that our child can’t have a continence assessment at home

England | NHS Continence Services | Template Letter

If your local continence team has refused to assess your child’s needs at home, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

Find out more and download

We’ve been told that our child can’t have a continence assessment at home

NHS Continence Services | Template Letter | Wales

If your local continence team in Wales has refused to assess your child’s needs at home, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

Find out more and download

We’ve been told that our child is too young to have a continence assessment

England | NHS Continence Services | Template Letter

If your local health authority has told you that your child isn’t old enough to have a continence assessment, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

Find out more and download

We’ve been told that our child is too young to have a continence assessment

NHS Continence Services | Template Letter | Wales

If your local health authority in Wales has told you that your child isn’t old enough to have a continence assessment, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

Find out more and download

We need help to get to hospital appointments, but the NHS has refused to arrange transport

NHS Patient Transport Services | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to make a complaint if the NHS in Wales has refused your request for transport to hospital appointments.

Find out more and download

We need help to get to hospital appointments, but the NHS has refused to arrange transport

England | NHS Patient Transport Services | Template Letter

Use this letter to make a complaint if the NHS has refused your request for transport to hospital appointments.

Find out more and download

We want to start preparing for the transition from children’s services to adult services

England | Template Letter | Transition

Councils should start planning for the move to adult services by assessing your family’s needs. Use this letter to ask the council to start planning for your child’s transition.

Find out more and download

We want to start preparing for the transition from children’s services to adult services

Template Letter | Transition | Wales

Councils should start planning for the move to adult services by assessing your family’s needs. Use this letter to ask the council to start planning for your child’s transition.

Find out more and download

We’re still waiting for the council to arrange our child’s transition from children’s services to adult services

England | Template Letter | Transition

Use this letter to complain about the council’s delay in making arrangements for your child’s transition from children’s services to adult services.

Find out more and download

We’re still waiting for the council to arrange our child’s transition from children’s services to adult services

Template Letter | Transition | Wales

Use this letter to complain about the council’s delay in making arrangements for your child’s transition from children’s services to adult services.

Find out more and download

The council/health body is blaming a lack of resources

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter if the council/health body has agreed that you need help, but says that it can’t afford to provide support.

Find out more and download

We’re still waiting for the council/health body to arrange the support we need

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Scotland | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to complain if you’re still waiting for the council/health body to find the type of support that will meet your family’s needs.

Find out more and download

We’re not getting enough continence products to meet our child’s needs

England | NHS Continence Services | Template Letter

Use this letter to complain that your local continence service isn’t providing enough pads/nappies to meet your child’s needs.

Find out more and download

My child can’t walk to school, but the council says it doesn’t have to provide transport because we live within walking distance from the school

England | School Transport | Template Letter

Use this letter to ask for school transport for a child who can’t walk to school because of his/her special educational needs or disability.

The Government has recently issued revised statutory guidance for school transport. We are in the process of analysing the new guidance and updating our letters. If you require individual help on school transport you can complete our LEaP request form and we will assess your request.

Find out more and download

My child can’t walk to school, but the council says it doesn’t have to provide transport because we live within walking distance from the school

School Transport | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter to ask for school transport for a child who can’t walk to school because of his/her special educational needs or disability.

Find out more and download

The council has failed to provide a properly trained school transport escort

School Transport | Template Letter | Wales

If the council hasn’t provided a properly trained escort to keep your child safe on the journey to and from school, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

Find out more and download

The council has failed to provide a properly trained school transport escort

England | School Transport | Template Letter

If the council hasn’t provided a properly trained escort to keep your child safe on the journey to and from school, you can use this letter to make a complaint.

The Government has recently issued revised statutory guidance for school transport. We are in the process of analysing the new guidance and updating our letters. If you require individual help on school transport you can complete our LEaP request form and we will assess your request.

Find out more and download

We want to make a complaint about the councils refusal to carry out an assessment (England)

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter

Use this letter if the council have refused to carry out an assessment of your family’s needs.

Find out more and download

We want to make a complaint about the councils refusal to carry out an assessment (Wales)

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

Use this letter if the council have refused to carry out an assessment of your family’s needs.

Find out more and download

We want to complain about a delay in receiving an initial autism assessment (England)

Assessments and Care Plans | England | Template Letter

You can use this letter to make a complaint about a health body if your child has been referred to the specialist autism team and is still waiting for an initial assessment 3 months after the referral.

Find out more and download

We want to complain about a delay in receiving an autism assessment (Wales)

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter | Wales

You can use this letter to make a complaint to a health body if your child has been referred to the specialist autism team and is still waiting for an initial assessment 26 weeks after the referral.

Find out more and download

We want to complain about an inappropriate ‘child in need’ assessment

Assessments and Care Plans | Template Letter

You can use this letter to make a complaint about a local authority if your child has received a needs assessment which was distressing and heavily focused on whether there was a safeguarding issue rather than a consideration of your family’s social care needs.

Find out more and download

Make a Donation

Please help support our vital work that enriches the lives of thousands of children and their families every day.