Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about children services’ actions as it is reasonable to expect her to have requested a stage three review within the Children Act statutory complaints procedure.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s children services team’s actions.

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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 it would be reasonable for the person to have asked 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 Ms X which includes the Council’s reply to her complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In 2024 Ms X complained to the Council about children services’ actions. It considered her complaint at stage one and two of its Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure.
6. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about some 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.
7. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
8. 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. 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. The Council did so here in July 2025.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. The Council’s stage two reply said Ms X should request a review ideally within 20 working days. She did not do so. She complained to us five months later.
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. If she was unhappy with the stage two reply it is reasonable to expect Ms X to have requested a stage three review.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to have requested a stage three review.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman