Hampshire County Council (19 002 839)

Category : Children's care services > Child protection

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 06 Sep 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr B complains that the Council failed to progress his complaint through stage 3 of the statutory complaint’s procedure. I have discontinued this complaint. This is because the Council have now arranged a stage 3 review panel.

The complaint

  1. Mr B complains that the Council have failed to progress his complaint to stage 3 of the statutory complaint’s procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. As part of this complaint I have:
    • reviewed and considered a previous complaint from Mr B; and
    • contacted the Council and considered its response.
  2. I also sent a draft version of this decision to both parties, and invited their comments.

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What I found

  1. ‘Getting the Best from Complaints: Social Care Complaints and Representations for Children, Young People and Others’ outlines the statutory guidance local authorities must follow when handling complaints about these matters. Section two of the guidance sets out the circumstances under which local authorities must use the statutory complaints procedure.
  2. There are three stages in this procedure, each of which should be conducted in a set timeframe. A stage three investigation should be carried out when requested by a complainant and be completed within 30 days.

What happened

  1. In July 2018, the Ombudsman investigated a complaint from Mr B about the Councils handling of his complaint. Our investigation found that the Council was at fault for not proceeding his complaint to stage two of the statutory complaint’s procedure.
  2. The Council agreed to complete stage 2 of the complaint’s procedure by the end of August. It also agreed to consider the extent of the injustice the delays their complaints handling had on Mr B
  3. The Council carried out a stage two review in December, but Mr B remained dissatisfied and requested that the Council progress his complaint to stage three.
  4. Mr B contacted the Ombudsman in May and said that the Council had not progressed his complaint to stage three of the complaints process.
  5. Upon making enquiries with the Council, it told the Ombudsman that the stage 3 panel had been delayed due to staffing issues. However, the Council had now scheduled the panel for the 27 August, and that Mr B has confirmed his availability.

Analysis

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 allows us to discontinue an investigation when we are satisfied with action that a Council has taken. As the Council have now confirmed a date for the stage three panel, I have made the decision to discontinue my investigation.
  2. Mr B will have the opportunity to discuss his complaint at the panel hearing, including any injustice caused by delays in the complaints process. If Mr B remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the hearing, he can raise a new complaint with the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

  1. I have discontinued my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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