Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council dealt with concerns about his son. We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X’s complaint is still being considered at stage two of the statutory complaints procedure, which is better placed to investigate these matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the way the Council dealt with concerns about his son, he says the Council;

• failed to consider his parental responsibility;
• wrongly refused to share information about his son;
• poorly communicated with him;
• delayed in completing child and family assessments; and
• ignored safeguarding concerns.

2. Mr X says this situation has caused him significant distress which in turn caused issues with his health and employment. He also says he feels excluded and powerless because he is unable to reassure himself about his son’s safety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

Statutory complaints procedures - the three-stage process

7. 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. We also published practitioner guidance on the procedures, setting out our expectations.
8. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. 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 investigating officer (IO) to look into the complaint and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation and ensuring its independence.
9. 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.

Early referrals to the LGSCO

10. The Ombudsman would normally expect a council and complainant to follow the full complaints procedure. The guidance sets out the circumstances in which a complaint can be referred to the Ombudsman without completing all three stages. This can only happen when the stage two investigation is robust with all, or all significant complaints upheld. Councils must show they agree to meet most of the complainant’s desired outcomes and have a clear action plan for delivery.

What happened?

11. Mr X complained to the Council in November 2025. Dissatisfied with the outcome of his stage one complaint, he asked the Council to escalate his complaint to stage two of the statutory procedure in December 2025.
12. The Council accepted Mr X’s complaint at stage two and commissioned an IO to investigate these matters. The stage two investigation is ongoing.

Analysis

13. The statutory children’s complaints procedure was set up to provide children, young people and those involved in their welfare with access to an independent, thorough and prompt response to their concerns. This independence is not available to complaints put through the corporate complaints procedure. Because of this, we expect people to complete the complaints procedure before we will consider whether there were any flaws in how the Council investigated their concerns.
14. Mr X’s complaint is still being investigated at stage two. I have therefore not investigated Mr X’s complaint.
15. If Mr X remains dissatisfied after completing the three stages of the procedure, he can approach us again and ask us to consider investigating his complaint.

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Decision

16. I have ended my investigation

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman