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.

Luton Borough Council (24 017 797)

Statement Upheld Adoption 16-Jan-2026

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain that although the Council agreed to provide adoption support for life for Miss Y and Miss Z it wrongly stopped allowance payments for Miss Y and reduced payments for Miss Z without any notice or communication with the family. The statutory complaints investigation upheld all of Mr and Mrs X’s complaints and found fault with the Council's actions. These faults caused significant distress and uncertainty for Mr and Mrs X and detrimentally affected their wellbeing. The Council should apologise, make payments and take action to remedy this.

Redcar & Cleveland Council (25 010 840)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 07-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about Council’s handling of matters involving her grandchild and their half-sibling in 2018 and 2019. The complaint is late and there are other bodies better placed to consider the issues raised.

Leicestershire County Council (25 009 052)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 18-Dec-2025

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the conduct of the Council’s social workers and information they provided in court. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been subject to court proceedings.

London Borough of Lewisham (24 018 722)

Statement Upheld Adoption 11-Dec-2025

Summary: Ms X and Mr Y complained about the way the Council dealt with an adoption process. The Council was at fault for failing to consider all their complaints and delaying in completing the complaint procedure. This caused Ms X and Mr Y distress, frustration and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to recognise the injustice caused and complete a new stage two investigation.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (25 012 897)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 05-Dec-2025

Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about decisions made around her adoption when she was a baby, because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been subject to court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.

London Borough of Newham (25 006 933)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 16-Oct-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of information related to her adopted children and its previous decision on her earlier complaint. Part of the complaint has already been considered and decided. The remaining matters concern data handling issues which are for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to consider, or have not caused Mrs X a significant enough injustice

Warwickshire County Council (25 005 491)

Statement Upheld Adoption 13-Oct-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council completed an adoption assessment. We could not add to the Council’s previous investigation.

Norfolk County Council (25 006 241)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 21-Sep-2025

Summary: We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council committing a data breach during adoption proceedings because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that are being, or have been, considered in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.

Cambridgeshire County Council (25 001 610)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 29-Jul-2025

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about post adoption services provided by the Council. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, and we cannot achieve the outcomes Mr X seeks. Additionally, any fault in how the Council considered Mr X’s complaint has not caused him a significant injustice to warrant investigation.