Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s policy related to early years funding. This is because in its response to her complaint, the Council has accepted there is contradiction between clauses in the funding agreement. It has apologised to Ms X and agreed to review the agreement. Further investigation by us would achieve nothing more.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about an amendment the Council has made to its early years funding agreement. She says the amendment contradicts government guidance and restricts the ability for parents to spread their funded childcare hours throughout the year. She wants the Council to remove the disputed clause and apologise to her for the time and trouble spent bringing the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its complaint response to Ms X, the Council upheld part of her complaint and agreed that the disputed clause went against other clauses in the agreement. It apologised to Ms X for this. It said it would ask its legal team to review the funding agreement and once this process was complete, it would inform Ms X of the outcome. It also offered to meet with her to discuss her concerns in more detail.
6. We will not investigate this complaint as we could not achieve more than this. As part of our investigations, we may ask a council to review a policy or procedure to ensure it is in line with relevant legislation and statutory guidance but we would not direct a council to add or remove specific wording or clauses. Following Ms X’s complaint, the Council has already agreed to review the funding agreement. Further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome or achieve more than this.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman