Leeds City Council (25 006 880)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 03-Feb-2026

Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council carried out the statutory complaint procedure. The Council was at fault for a flawed investigation. This caused Mr X frustration and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X and complete a new stage two investigation.

Staffordshire County Council (25 015 824)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 03-Feb-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the conduct of three social workers allocated to her family’s case between 2021 and 2024. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

Bedford Borough Council (25 018 257)

Statement Not upheld Other 03-Feb-2026

Summary: We have discontinued our investigation into Council delays handling Miss X’s statutory children’s complaint. This is because the Council issued its complaint response and took action to remedy the injustice caused by the delay.

Kent County Council (25 012 607)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 03-Feb-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the conduct of a council social worker. This is mostly because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s complaint handling, and investigation by us is unlikely to lead to a worthwhile outcome for Miss X.

Cornwall Council (25 006 350)

Statement Not upheld Adoption 02-Feb-2026

Summary: We have ended our investigation into Miss X’s complaint about how Adopt South West (ASW) handled her application to access her adoption records. This is because ASW apologised to her and said it would make service improvements. Miss X has received her records and there is no further worthwhile outcome achievable by investigating further.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (25 014 131)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 02-Feb-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the contents of the Council’s court ordered report and it not acting in line with a court order. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded.

Reading Borough Council (25 017 479)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 02-Feb-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council social worker failing to include Mr X in plans for a child protection visit. This is because there is insufficient injustice to warrant an investigation.

Lancashire County Council (25 012 609)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 02-Feb-2026

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to Mr X’s child. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters that have been before the courts or are closely related to such matters.

London Borough of Lewisham (25 004 370)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Looked after children 29-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council leaving Miss X in unsuitable accomodation. This is because we could not add to the Council’s investigation.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (25 005 062)

Statement Not upheld Fostering 29-Jan-2026

Summary: We have decided to discontinue our investigation of this complaint, about the Council’s decision not to accept a stage 3 complaint under the statutory children’s complaint procedure. This is because the Council has provided satisfactory reasons for making an early referral to the Ombudsman, and we do not consider it would be proportionate to carry out further investigation ourselves.