Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with a complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council have dealt with his complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. Mr X says the Council is unfairly refusing to consider additional issues that he is raising.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained to the Council in 2022 and the Council provided a response at stage one of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. Mr X asked the Council to escalate his complaint to stage two but the Council concluded that it could not continue with an investigation due to related ongoing court proceedings which a complaints investigation could prejudice.
6. The court proceedings ended in late 2023 and in January 2024, Mr X contacted the Council and asked it to continue with his complaint. The Council eventually agreed to proceed with a stage two investigation to consider the issues Mr X raised in his complaint in 2022.
7. A statement of complaint was sent to Mr X but he requested additional points be added about the Council’s actions. The Council wrote to Mr X to say that the additional points would not be considered as they are about matters that happened several years before he raised his complaint in 2022 and they were therefore late. Mr X asked the Council to reconsider its decision but it refused and gave Mr X a further opportunity to proceed to stage two with its proposed statement of complaint.
8. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The Council fully considered the additional points that Mr X was raising and found that they are about things that happened several years ago and that they could have been raised sooner. I see no evidence of fault with the Council’s decision making. If Mr X wishes he can now ask the Council to proceed with its stage two investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman