City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (21 017 384)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 29-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to put her daughter up for adoption. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about court action or what happened in court. The Council has accepted there were delays in arranging to provide Miss X with updates about her child following adoption. The Council has agreed to pay Miss X £300 to acknowledge the distress this caused her.

Surrey County Council (21 006 640)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 27-Mar-2022

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to arrange suitable contact with her children or update her on their progress while they lived with foster carers. The Council was at fault for failing to send Ms X some of the records of her contact sessions with the children. The missed contact records caused Ms X undue distress. We recommend the Council apologise and send her the records. The Council was also at fault for failing to properly facilitate arrangements for a family holiday. It had already taken appropriate steps to remedy that fault. The Council was not at fault in the other matters Ms X complained about.

London Borough of Hackney (21 016 635)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 24-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the care the Council gave a looked after child between 2009 and 2014. This is because we could not carry out a fair and meaningful investigation so long after the events complained about.

Devon County Council (21 017 736)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 24-Mar-2022

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in deciding about the care of a child. The matters complained of are not separable from matters decided by a court.

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (21 017 038)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 14-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to suspend the complaints process. It is unlikely we would find fault.

Nottinghamshire County Council (21 008 591)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 10-Mar-2022

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council consented for surgery to be carried out on a looked after child. This is because the matter has been subject to court proceedings which places it outside of our jurisdiction. We cannot investigate any complications caused by the surgery as the actions of the NHS are not within our jurisdiction. Other matters that the complainant raised happened too long ago.

London Borough of Hounslow (21 014 314)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 06-Mar-2022

Summary: The Council is at fault for delaying consideration of this complaint at stage one of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to consider the complaint at stage one of the procedure without further delay.

Staffordshire County Council (20 012 417)

Report Upheld Looked after children 01-Mar-2022

Summary: Miss C complained about the care and support she received from the Council as a child. Miss C says because of the Council’s fault she did not receive proper support and missed out on a care leavers grant.

Warrington Council (21 009 316)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 01-Mar-2022

Summary: We have not investigated Mr B’s complaint about how the Council supported him after he made a disclosure of sexual abuse in 2017. His complaint is late, and, as there are no good reasons why he could not have approached the Ombudsman sooner, we cannot investigate it.

Northumberland County Council (21 004 295)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 28-Feb-2022

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to carry out a sufficiently independent and robust investigation into his children’s statutory complaint. The Council was at fault for failing to investigate Mr X’s concerns about some of the care homes he lived in. This caused avoidable Mr X distress. The Council has agreed to apologise.