Cambridgeshire County Council (19 013 359)

Statement Upheld Other 08-Feb-2021

Summary: The complainants alleged that the Council did not give them sufficient information about the financial implications of a private arrangement to care permanently for their grandchildren. There were also other complaints upheld by the Council. We found fault causing injustice. The Council has accepted the actions to remedy this. Therefore, we have completed our investigation and are closing the complaint.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council (19 015 077)

Statement Not upheld Child protection 08-Feb-2021

Summary: Ms V says the Council failed to act appropriately to stop her children having contact with their father, who was a domestic violence perpetrator. She said this caused her, and the children, a great deal of distress. There is no evidence of Council fault.

Devon County Council (20 009 025)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 08-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that a foster carer abused and neglected a child that the complainant later adopted. This is because it is a late complaint.

London Borough of Newham (20 009 193)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 08-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s involvement in her extended family. She does not have parental responsibility for the children involved. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider her data sharing complaint.

Bristol City Council (20 009 475)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 08-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to protect his now adult children in the past and its failure to tell him when the children went into foster care. We cannot investigate a complaint on behalf of Mr X’s children because we do not have their consent. We will not investigate the failure to keep Mr X informed. That is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s previous investigation as the Council has already upheld the complaint and apologised to him.

Northamptonshire County Council (20 009 861)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 08-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s reports because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to raise his objections in court.

Wiltshire Council (19 007 443)

Statement Upheld Child protection 05-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his request to care for his sibling, Child A, and for not keeping him informed of its actions while Child A was on a child protection plan. The Council could have done more to keep Mr X informed but was not at fault for not progressing his request to care for Child A. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and review its procedures for keeping wider family members informed.

City of York Council (20 005 860)

Statement Upheld Child protection 05-Feb-2021

Summary: The Council was at fault for its record-keeping after receiving information about the welfare of Mr B’s son. Because of this, it is unable to provide evidence that it properly dealt with the information. The Council has apologised to Mr B and has offered £500 to recognise his, and his son’s, distress. This is a suitable remedy.

Lincolnshire County Council (20 001 052)

Statement Upheld Other 05-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr B complained the Council failed to follow the right procedures when carrying out an age assessment and failed to tell Mr B about the decision and how he could challenge it. The Council failed to follow the guidance when carrying out the age assessment and did not provide Mr B with a written record of the decision and how to challenge it. We cannot speculate about whether that affected the decision on Mr B’s age, although failure to follow the process meant he may have missed out on some support. An apology, payment to Mr B, training and providing information to officers is satisfactory remedy.

West Sussex County Council (20 009 006)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 05-Feb-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s actions connected to the relationship between her and her child. The Court decided who should care for her child and her contact. The child is now an adult and any complaint about their support and care must come directly from them.