Summary: Mr and Mrs X complained the Council poorly managed their child, Y’s, transition from children’s services to adult services as a care leaver. They say this caused them and Y distress and affected Y’s health. They also say the Council handled their complaint poorly. The Council is at fault. There were faults during the transition planning process and with complaints handling. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr and Mrs X and Y, make remedy payments in recognition of the uncertainty and distress caused and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complained the Council poorly managed their child, Y’s, transition from children’s services to adult services and new accommodation as a care leaver. They say this caused them and Y distress and affected Y’s health. They also say the Council handled their complaint poorly. They want the Council to improve its services to ensure it appropriately plans and manages the transition process between child and adult services for young people in its care.

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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. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. 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

5. I read Mr and Mrs X’s complaint and spoke with Mrs X about it on the phone.
6. I made enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent me.
7. Mr and Mrs X, Y and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered all comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

Looked after children

8. A looked after child is any child who is subject to a care order or accommodated away from their family by a local authority under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (the Act).
9. Section 20 of the Act says local authorities can provide accommodation to a child when they do not have somewhere suitable to live. As a looked after child, they will be appointed a social worker who will assess their needs on an ongoing basis and develop a care plan. When a young person who has been accommodated under section 20 leaves care at 18, they are a priority for housing support.

Transition between children’s and adult services

10. Council should work to plan a young person’s transition between children and adult services when they are between 16-18 years old. The process should involve all services that support the young person, for example, health and social care, education and mental health.
11. The Care Act 2014 sets out councils duties towards adults with care and support needs. It says as a young person approaches 18, a council should complete a “transition assessment”, where there is a likely need for care and support. There is no set age for this to be done, but statutory guidance says the transition assessment should take place when it is most appropriate for them.
12. Clinical guidelines for the transition from children’s to adult health services say transition planning should be person-centred and start early (from 15 and a half years old for care leavers).

Councils’ duties to care leavers

13. Councils have duties to provide ongoing support for young people leaving care. A young person is entitled to a pathway plan and a personal adviser, up to the age of 25. The pathway plan must contain details of what support the council will provide. It must include the young person’s views, future goals, information about their health, financial and social needs and details of any ongoing education or training.

The children’s statutory complaints procedure

14. This is a formal procedure, set out in law, which councils must follow to investigate certain complaints about children’s services. The procedure aims to ensure concerns are resolved swiftly and, wherever possible, by the people who provide the service locally.
15. Statutory guidance provides details of what may form the subject of a complaint under this procedure. This includes all council functions within Part 3 of the Children’s Act 1989, which sets out the services councils must provide for children and their families in their area. Generally, assessments and services for looked after children fall under this procedure.
16. The procedure has three stages. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two, which involved an independent investigation. If they remain unhappy following this, they can request escalation to stage three, which involves a review of the complaint by an independent review panel.

What happened

17. Before turning 18, Y was a looked after child. Y was unable to live at home and so was being accommodated by the Council in a residential placement by a children’s care provider. The placement was in a neighbouring council area. Mr and Mrs X retained parental responsibility for Y. Y had a history of mental health conditions and substance misuse.
18. In June 2020, the Council held a Child in Care review. Those present discussed a plan for Y to move to semi-independent living, where Y would receive support to learn independent living skills such as doing laundry, budgeting, meal planning and cooking meals. Mr and Mrs X and Y both agreed with this plan.
19. In July 2020, Y turned 17.
20. The care provider updated the Council. It said Y was doing well, had been practicing making healthy meals and staff had advised him about planning meals in advance and batch cooking. He was also continuing to develop skills in other areas such as cleaning and laundry.
21. In September 2020, the Council and care provider shared concerns about some of Y’s recent behaviour. They agreed they needed to look holistically about how Y would move towards independence as he approached 18.
22. The Council discussed the concerns with Y. They encouraged Y to consider what he might want to do and to start making plans in preparation for when he turned 18.
23. In November 2020, Mrs X emailed the Council. She said she was concerned about Y’s upcoming transition to adult services in summer 2021. She said all those involved with Y knew he struggled with uncertainty and change. She asked what plans and timetable were in place to manage this transition. She told the Council her and Y’s preference would be for Y to remain with his current care provider post-18, but she did not know if this was possible.
24. In December 2020, the Council completed a video call with Y. It discussed future plans with Y and Y said he would like to consider college courses. It told Y it was unlikely he would be able to stay with the current care provider after he turned 18, but this did not mean he would be unsupported. Y agreed to think about what he wanted moving forward.
25. Y met with a careers advisor who provided information about educational courses Y could consider.
26. The Council developed a pathway plan for Y. This said the care provider had worked with Y over the last few months to promote his independent living skills. However, he still needed support in times of stress or low confidence. It confirmed Y could not stay in his current placement post-18 and said Y would need a careful transition plan for Y. The action plan included:
• Providing Y with information about his accommodation options post-18 to help him make an informed choice.
• Allocating Y a pathway advisor.
• Setting goals around money management to ensure he could manage his own budget.
27. In January 2021, Y began a college course. He also met with his allocated pathway worker.
28. In February 2021, Y was admitted to hospital after an overdose. Mrs X met with the Council and expressed concerns about the support Y needed and what was available after he turned 18.
29. In March 2021, Y met with his pathway worker. The pathway worker said he had been part of three meetings discussing Y’s accommodation post-18 but had not heard what Y wanted. Y told them he understood he could not stay at his current placement. He said he wanted to remain living locally and not return to the Council’s area. The pathway worker explained the accommodation options and suggested he consider a nearby supported living placement. Y said he would consider the options and think about this. The pathway worker asked Y to contact him again once he had done this.
30. A few days later Y told the Council he did not think the supported living placement was right for him. He said he wanted Mrs X and his care provider to be fully involved in decision making about where he would live post-18.
31. The Council held a preparation for adulthood meeting. The meeting decided Y may benefit from a mental health social worker from adult services. It referred him to the local community mental health service in his local area.
32. The Council met with Mrs X. It told Mrs X it planned to ask its adult social care service to complete a care needs assessment with Y.
33. Mrs X contacted her MP. She said she was concerned there was no transition plan in place. She said they could not decide about post-18 accommodation until the Council had completed the care needs assessment, which had yet to take place. She asked the MP to complain to the Council on her behalf.
34. In May 2021, the Council met with Mrs X and Y to update Y’s pathway plan. Mrs X and Y expressed frustration about the lack of options for Y for accommodation post-18. He expressed anxieties about living independently or without sufficient support. The Council concluded that it could not make further plans until it had completed Y’s adult social care needs assessment. Until then, it would continue to support Y as best as it could.
35. In June 2021, the Council held a Child in Care review. The independent reviewing officer spoke with Y’s care provider. The care provider said they had worked with Y to prepare him for independence but were concerned as there were still no plans in place for where he would live post-18.
36. The mental health social worker completed a care act needs assessment and then met with Mrs X and Y. They told Mrs X and Y that the needs assessment had not identified any support needs for Y. They discussed housing options and Y said he would like to view the supported living placement nearby. The social worker said in order to move there, he would need to complete a housing application form. His current care provider could support him to complete this.
37. The Council told Mrs X he may be able to stay at his current placement whilst awaiting a move to the supported living placement.
38. During July, the care provider and Y’s social worker encouraged Y to complete a housing application for the supported living placement, but Y did not do this.
39. Y turned 18.
40. The care provider told the Council that, despite reminding him, Y had still not completed the housing application. Y’s social worker spoke with Y to arrange a meeting, but Y said he did not want to meet with them face to face. The social worker urged Y to fill in the housing application and said he could only stay in his current accommodation for another two weeks.
41. Y completed a housing application. He said he wanted to stay in the local area but did not want to move to the supported living placement. The housing team contacted Y’s pathway worker to explore if there were any other options. They agreed they would do a joint visit to discuss the situation with Y.
42. Towards the end of July, Mrs X complained to the Council about poor transition planning. She said the Council initially told them it could extend his time at his current placement, but the social worker recently told Y over the phone that he had to leave within two weeks. She said the Council’s poor planning and ongoing uncertainty was putting Y’s mental health at risk and leaving him at risk of homelessness.
43. During August 2021, the Council identified an alternative local placement for Y. However, he did not like it and left after a few days. Mrs X says the uncertainty and distress caused by the lack of planning caused considerable distress to them all and contributed to the breakdown of this placement.
44. In September 2021, the Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint. It said Y had been clear he wanted to stay local to his children’s services placement which was outside of the Council’s area. Because it was out of area, it had no control over the adult accommodation options available. It said it would continue to support him with a pathway worker and pathway plan. He was also receiving support from the local mental health service. It said the discussions about the notice period in July 2021 were to try and instil a sense of urgency to try and get him to engage with services, as prior to that he had shown little interest.
45. Mrs X remained dissatisfied and asked to escalate her complaint. She said the Council had not initially acknowledged her complaint and had taken too long to respond. She said the issues she had raised were unresolved.
46. The Council did not respond to her escalation request. Mrs X brought her complaint to us.
47. In December 2021, the Council provided a final complaint response. It accepted it had not provided Y with sufficient support to ensure a smooth transition between children’s and adult services. It also accepted it did not initially respond when she raised her complaint and apologised to her for this.
48. Mrs X remained dissatisfied and was unhappy with the Council’s responses. She also said it had refused to investigate her complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure, telling her it did not have to as Y was now an adult.

Analysis

Transition planning

49. The evidence shows the Council did take some appropriate action to prepare Y for the transition from children’s to adult services.
• It arranged with the care provider for Y to move to semi-independent living during 2020, to help Y develop independent living skills.
• It provided Y with careers support to plan Y’s ongoing education and training in December 2020 and again in July 2021.
• It allocated Y a pathway worker in December 2020.
• It held a transition to adulthood meeting in March 2021.
• It discussed post-18 housing options with Y several times from December 2020 onwards.
• It referred him to the adult mental health team in April 2021 who allocated him a mental health social worker in May 2021.
50. However, in relation to some areas, there was fault in Y’s transition planning process. This is shown by:
• The decision that Y should have an adult social care needs assessment was made too late. This meant the assessment did not happen until June 2021, less than a month before his 18th birthday. The wait for the assessment also added to the delay in determining Y’s post-18 accommodation.
• Although there was discussion with both with Y and Mrs X about post 18- accommodation from December 2020 onwards, the Council did not progress this in a timely way to ensure there was a clear plan in place before Y turned 18. Although Y was at times reluctant to engage and there were limited options due to Y’s wish to stay in the neighbouring council area, the Council should have worked with them to agree a clear plan during 2020 and early 2021.
• The Council was unclear with Mrs X and Y during June and July 2021 about whether or for how long Y could stay at his current placement after his 18th birthday. This caused additional distress and uncertainty.
51. The Council should have done more to ensure that Y’s care needs assessment was completed earlier and that a clear plan was in place regarding post-18 accommodation well before his 18th birthday. This was fault.
52. Y was a looked after child, so the Council had a good understanding of Y’s history and his needs. Mrs X contacted the Council several times during 2020 and 2021 and involved her MP, expressing concern that uncertainty and poor planning would impact negatively on Y and could lead to a return of negative behaviours. The faults caused Mr and Mrs X and Y considerable uncertainty and distress.
53. In its complaint response in December 2021, the Council acknowledged that its management of Y’s transition was below standard and that this caused unnecessary distress. However, it did not offer a remedy for this. I have recommended a suitable remedy below which the Council has agreed to.

Complaints handling

54. When Mrs X first complained in July 2021, the Council did not initially acknowledge her complaint or respond. Mrs X’s complaint related to Council actions before Y turned 18 when he was a looked after child and therefore fell under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council should have accepted her complaint under this procedure and provided a stage one response within 20 working days. It did not do this and this is fault.
55. In September 2021, when Mrs X asked to escalate her complaint, the Council did not acknowledge her request or respond. The Council eventually provided a further response in December 2021, but this was under its corporate procedure, not under the children’s statutory procedure. The Council should have agreed to complete a stage two investigation under the children’s statutory procedure and the failure to do so was fault.
56. The Council has apologised to Mrs X for poor complaint handling. In addition, we have now investigated the complaint, so there is no ongoing injustice. However, the failure to use the correct procedure caused Mr and Mrs X and Y frustration and uncertainty and time and trouble bringing her complaint to us. The Council should review its procedures to ensure complaints about children’s services are appropriately investigated under the children’s statutory procedure.

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Agreed action

57. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will:
• Write to Mr and Mrs X and Y to apologise for the faults identified in Y’s transition planning and the poor handling of her complaint.
• pay Mr and Mrs X £300 and pay Y £300 in recognition of the frustration, distress and uncertainty caused.
• remind relevant officers that complaints about the Council’s actions before a young person turns 18 fall under the children’s statutory complaints procedure, regardless of the young person’s age when the complaint is raised.
58. Within three months of the final decision the Council will review its procedures for transition planning with young people approaching 18, in particular how it ensures plans for post-18 accommodation are in place well before the young person’s 18th birthday.
59. The Council should provide evidence to the Ombudsman that it has completed these actions.

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Final decision

60. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault and the Council has agreed actions to remedy the injustice caused and improve Council services.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman