Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council has approached his Children Act statutory complaint. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to complete that process.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council has blocked an investigation into his complaint about children services’ failures.

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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; or
• 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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Summary of what happened

5. Mr X complained to the Council in 2025 about children services’ actions. The Council replied at stage one of its Children Act statutory complaints procedure. In September 2025 Mr X told the Council he was not happy with the stage one reply and wanted his complaint escalated to stage two. It agreed. It told Mr X that those matters which had been replied to at stage one would be replied to at stage two and matters which he included in his stage two request which had not been covered in its stage one reply would be replied to separately at stage one.
6. Mr X disagreed with this approach. He wanted all his complaints to be considered together at stage two.

The Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure

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. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
9. 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.
10. Following the investigation, a senior manager (the adjudicating officer) at the council should carry out an adjudication. The officer considers the IO report and any report from the IP. They decide what the council’s response to the complaint will be, including what action it will take. The adjudicating officer should then write to the complainant with a copy of the investigation report, any report from the independent person and the adjudication response.
11. The whole stage two process should be completed within 25 working days but guidance allows an extension for up to 65 working days where required.
12. 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 working days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 working days of the panel hearing.
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.

Analysis

14. We are unlikely to criticise the Council for insisting all matters have a stage one reply before progressing to stage two. We are unlikely to say this breaches the Regulations or guidance. Whether the Council’s complaint replies cover Mr X’s complaint is not something we would consider until the complaint process is completed. It is reasonable to expect him to do so.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s proposals on how it will reply to his complaints. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to complete the Children Act statutory complaints’ process.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman