Summary: We uphold this complaint because the Council declined to complete the statutory process for complaints about children’s services. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by providing a suitable remedy for the injustice the complainant has been caused.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr X complains that the Council has not responded reasonably to his complaint about child protection action.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the conduct of child protection action relating to his children. The Council decided to respond to the complaint through the statutory procedure for children’s services complaints.
7. The complaint has finished stage two of the procedure and Mr X has asked to escalate it to the final stage. The Council declined to do so and advised Mr X to make an early referral to the Ombudsman. Early referral is not appropriate in the circumstances of the case.
8. If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing Mr X injustice, in that the Council has denied him the right, to which he is entitled, to complete the statutory procedure.

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Agreed action

9. We invited the Council to, within four weeks of the date of this decision, move to Stage 3 by convening a Review Panel.
10. To its credit, the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by doing so.

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Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman