Summary: Mrs Y complains about several aspects of the Council’s involvement in the prospective adoption of her children, D and E. Some of the matters complained about happened two years ago and we have not investigated them because there is no good reason to exercise our discretion. Some of the other matters have already been before the courts and we do not have jurisdiction to consider them. In the remaining parts of the complaint, we find some fault causing injustice to Mrs Y and E which the Council has agreed to remedy.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complains the Council has failed to support the adoption of two children, whom I will call D and E. In particular, she says:
1. The independent social work report commissioned by the Council contained inaccuracies and misrepresented their parenting abilities.
2. The Council wrongly decided to de-register them as foster carers and failed to formally notify them of the de-registration.
3. The Council prematurely began ‘life story’ work with E in October 2022 causing significant distress.
4. The Council has failed to provide the necessary adaptations and specialist equipment to enable D and E to safely move around their home.
5. The Council delayed in providing the agreed respite payments and holiday provision for both children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. The courts have said that where someone has used their right of appeal, reference or review or remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have investigated complaints c), e) and parts of d).
8. I have not investigated complaint a) because the independent social work report which Mrs Y complains about was completed in 2021. In our view, and in line with section 26(B) of the Local Government Act, it was reasonable for Mrs Y to complain about the contents of the report within a year of its completion.
9. I have not investigated complaint b) because Mrs Y became aware of the Council’s intention to de-register her as a foster carer in May 2021. The Council wrote to Mrs Y asking her to submit her comments. Mrs Y chose not to respond. In our view, it would have been reasonable for Mrs Y submit her representations in 2021. If Mrs Y was dissatisfied with the outcome of any appeal, she should have approached the LGSCO within a year of that outcome.
10. I have not investigated part of complaint d) because the requested adaptations were considered by the family court in October 2022. Where a complainant has sought a review or remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, the LGSCO has no jurisdiction. This is the case even if the courts have directly or indirectly adjudicated on the matters complained about and applies even if the court has not provided a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed.

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How I considered this complaint

11. During my investigation I discussed the complaint with Mrs Y and considered any information she provided.
12. I made enquiries and further enquiries of the Council and considered its responses alongside any relevant law and guidance.
13. Mrs Y and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making this final decision.
14. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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What I found

Complaint c) ‘life story’ work with E

15. As part of the adoption process, social workers will undertake life story work with children to help them understand where they came from and what happened in the time before they moved to their new family. It is an important piece of work to help children understand why they are not living with their birth families. Life story work is an ongoing process which social workers will revisit and review during the child’s time in care.
16. The guidance followed by the Council says the life story process is to be carefully planned and driven by the child’s social worker in coordination with other people who know the child well, such as their carers: “The life story book and ‘memory box’ should be co-ordinated by one person, preferably the child's social worker, and given to the child and prospective adopter in stages. The first stage is at the second statutory review of the child's placement with the prospective adopter.”
17. The Council’s records show the social worker had a virtual meeting with Mrs Y and E in October 2022. When the discussion turned to life story work and conversations about E’s birth family, Mrs Y says she was not present in the room. The social worker said they had not been aware of Mrs Y’s departure.
18. The social worker said they produced photographs of E and their birth mother. They explained that E moved to live with Mrs Y at four weeks old when their mother became unable to look after E due to drug and alcohol dependency. E asked the social worker questions about why their mother was unable to look after them. The records show the discussion lasted for around 30 minutes before E could no longer maintain concentration.
19. In response to Mrs Y’s complaint, the Council acknowledged that it did not discuss the life story work with Mrs Y prior to speaking with E about their birth family. Mrs Y said this caused E great distress and prompted a significant change in their mood and behaviour. E’s school spoke with the social worker the following week to relay their concerns about the impact of the life story work on E’s behaviour. The social worker spoke with Mrs Y and apologised for not discussing the life story work with her before talking with E.
20. Mrs Y says E’s previous social worker had agreed that E was not ready to participate in discussions about life story work. Mrs Y says the new social worker went against this agreement and started the work without first discussing or consulting with Mrs Y. The Council has already accepted that these actions amounted to fault. We agree with this finding because the social worker did not follow the published guidance which places emphasis on working alongside key people in the child’s life, such as their caregivers.
21. The fault caused injustice in the form of distress for both Mrs Y and E. Since the October 2022 meeting, Mrs Y says that E has spoken about the “horrible things” their birth “mummy” did when E was a baby. Mrs Y and the school also noticed a change in E’s behaviour. While we cannot recommend a remedy which will undo the events complained about, we can ask for a symbolic payment in recognition of the impact. The Council should also undertake service improvements to ensure that all relevant social workers are aware of the guidance.

Complaint d) adaptations and specialist equipment

22. Mrs Y says the Council has not provided the adaptations and specialist equipment needed to ensure the children have a safe and secure home which fully meets their needs.
23. This part of Mrs Y’s complaint is in two parts: one part relates to the building work and adaptations needed to change the structure and internal layout of Mrs Y’s house. The second part relates to the specialist equipment which Mrs Y needs inside the house.
24. In October 2022 the court made an order with regards to the timescales for D and E’s adoption. I will not revisit the whole order here, because the majority of this either falls outside of the LGSCO’s jurisdiction or has no relevance to the matters I am investigating. However, it is relevant to note the order outlined the Council’s agreement to fund an extension to Mrs Y’s home. In summary, it said:
• The Council will make a payment of £180,000 as a contribution to the cost of a two-story extension for the benefit of D and E. The Council will make the payments as follows:
1. First payment of £100,000 the day before the hearing listed for the making of an adoption order
2. Payment of £80,000 on 6 April 2022
25. It went on to list the conditions of the payments:
• A legal charge to be registered against the house to secure repayment of the sum if:
1. The adoption order is not made
2. The building work is not undertaken
3. The children cease to live with the applicants
26. For the reasons explained in paragraph ten, I have not investigated part one of complaint d) because the court has directly considered the issue of adaptations and formalised the Council’s proposals in the order of 13 October 2022.
27. I can, however, investigate the second part of complaint d). This concerns the Council’s alleged failure to provide the following equipment for D and E:
1. Camera system to monitor both children while sleeping.
2. Motion sensor and alarm for E’s bedroom doorway.
3. Internet booster for upstairs to ensure a reliable signal for D’s seizure and heart monitor.
28. In response to our enquiries, the Council said it has not received a recommendation to provide a camera system to monitor the children whilst sleeping. The Council points to an OT report dated 18 October 2021, which says, “[E] would benefit from a motion sensor that will alert [Mr and Mrs Y] when [E] gets out of bed during the night. This will enable [Mr and Mrs Y] to be alerted that [E] is up in the event that [E] attempts to go downstairs alone.”
29. Based on the information I have seen; I do not find fault in relation to point one of paragraph 27. This is because there is no evidence of an OT recommendation for a camera. As the Council has not agreed to fund camera equipment, there has been no failure to provide it.
30. In relation to point two, the Council accepts the independent OT recommended a motion sensor for E’s bedroom. The Council says Mrs Y has asked for a specific wired-in system which she thinks will best meet E’s needs. The Council says it is waiting for Mrs Y to provide the details of the product.
31. The Council has agreed to fund the equipment in point two, as per the OT’s recommendation quoted in paragraph 28. The Council should therefore take the steps outlined in the final section of this statement to resolve this part of Mrs Y’s complaint.
32. In response to point three, the Council says it was not aware of Mrs Y’s request for internet signal boosters until it received the LGSCO’s enquiry. The Council has considered Mrs Y’s request but says it does not fall within the remit of OT provision. Instead, the Council suggests that Mrs Y discusses the strength of her internet connection with her internet provider.
33. I suggest that Mrs Y first discusses her internet connection and speed with her broadband provider. If those discussions are not successful in improving the strength and speed of Mrs Y’s internet, she may consider putting a formal request to the Council via the OT.

Complaint e) delay in providing respite payments and holiday provision

34. Mrs Y receives respite support and holiday provision for both D and E paid via direct payments. In November 2021 an independent social worker recommended an increase in the hours of support to be provided. This was approved by the court in October 2022.
35. For D, the increased support amounts to:
• 18 hours per week 9 hours overnight respite
• Three days per each half-term
• Three days per week for four weeks of the summer holidays
36. For E, Mrs Y now receives:
• 3.5 hours per week
• 18 hours, twice a month
• Two days a week per each school holiday
37. Mrs Y complains that she did not receive the backdated payments until March 2023, despite the increased support being agreed in November. She says this delay caused hardship and distress for the family.
38. From the records I have seen, it is evident that Mrs Y had ongoing contact with the Council in 2022 and 2023 about the outstanding payments. The matter is not therefore caught by the time limits imposed by section 26(b) because Mrs Y only received the agreed backdated funding in March 2023. She did not have cause to complaint until this date.
39. In July 2022 the Council shared a breakdown of the payments to be backdated. It was inaccurate and Mrs Y provided corrections. The Council has now provided a spreadsheet showing a correct breakdown of the payments and the dates it made these. Mrs Y has confirmed everything is now in place as it should be.
40. With that said, there is remaining injustice arising from the unexplainable delay in making the payments between October and March. The Council will remedy this with a symbolic payment in recognition of the distress and hardship caused.

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Agreed action

41. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• Make a payment £500 to Mrs Y. This a symbolic payment in recognition of the distress caused by the premature life story work and for the further distress caused by the unexplainable delay in making the backdated payments for D and E’s respite and holiday provision.
• Make a further payment of £250 to Mrs Y. This is to be used for E’s benefit in recognition of the distress E experienced from the fault in the life story work.
42. Within twelve weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• Make arrangements to provide the necessary motion sensors for E’s bedroom, as identified in the October 2021 OT report. The Council should also apologise to Mrs Y for the delay; and
• Remind relevant staff about the life story guidance. This could be through a briefing paper or as part of staff training.
43. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

44. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault causing injustice in some elements of Mrs Y’s complaint. The agreed actions listed above will provide an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman