Surrey County Council (19 012 589)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 17-Jan-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint the Council breached a Court order for her contact with her child. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to apply to Court.

London Borough of Hounslow (19 016 516)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 16-Jan-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the information the Council gave a Court. We cannot investigate legal proceedings.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (19 013 784)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 15-Jan-2020

Summary: The Council has agreed to put Miss J’s complaint, which is about its actions before and after she left its care, through the statutory complaints process for complaints about children’s services. So the Ombudsman should not consider the matter further at this stage.

Birmingham City Council (18 015 286)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 13-Jan-2020

Summary: Miss B and Ms C complain the Council has failed to support their contact with Miss B’s child, D (Ms C’s grandchild) who is looked after in long-term foster care. They say the Council has not allowed them input to any decisions relating to D or taken their views into account. There is evidence of fault and the Council has agreed to apologise, make payments and change its procedures, particularly with Child in Care meetings going forward.

London Borough of Newham (19 011 323)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 18-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the support provided to a care leaver with her rent while she was doing a degree. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Essex County Council (19 010 532)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 17-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot consider Mrs X’s complaint about her son’s care because it relates to matters that have been decided in court. Such matters lie outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and the law prevents him from considering them.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (19 007 238)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 16-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a social worker. This is because he cannot achieve the outcome the complainant wants and because the complainant could complain to the Information Commissioner.

Liverpool City Council (19 010 628)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 03-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint about a criminal conviction and the impact it may have on the complainant’s future career. This is because the Ombudsman cannot investigate any issue that has been the subject of legal proceedings. In addition, he cannot achieve the outcome the complainant would like and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Northamptonshire County Council (19 010 606)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 22-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained her son’s placement does not meet his needs, and the Council has not kept her informed. We cannot investigate this complaint. Mrs X’s son did not consent to the Council sharing information with his mother. Therefore we, like the Council, cannot consider a complaint from Mrs X on her son’s behalf. We should not consider Mrs X’s complaint about the Council not involving her, as it is unlikely we would find fault in its actions.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (18 014 759)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 21-Nov-2019

Summary: Ms X complains the Council delayed dealing with her complaints about support for her and her daughter. Ms X also complains the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments for her mental health issues. There were delays by the Council in dealing with Ms X’s complaints and it failed to properly respond to her requests for reasonable adjustments. The Council should apologise to Ms X and provide her with support. The Council should also take action to improve its services.