Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to follow the Children Act complaints’ procedure. It has now agreed to do so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to properly reply to his children services’ complaint.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X which included the Council’s response to her.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The statutory complaints’ procedure

5. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
6. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
7. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigator and an independent person who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. Councils have up to 13 weeks to complete stage two of the process from the date of request.
8. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel. The Council must hold the panel within 30 days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 days of the panel hearing.
9. Mr X complained to the Council’s children services team in 2021. Following the Council’s delays, we issued a decision in January 2022. The Council had agreed to start the statutory stage two within a month. The Council completed stage two in January 2023. Mr X requested a stage three in February 2023. The Council refused that request in May 2023.
10. If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the Council delayed in completing the stage two and has refused to complete the stage three. This case does not meet the requirements for an early referral.

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Agreed action

11. The Council has agreed to:
• Complete the stage three review panel, within the regulations, with the time starting at the date of this final decision.

• Pay Mr X £325 for the delays in the stage two in 2022 and the delay in stage three so far.

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Final decision

12. I uphold this complaint as the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman