Summary: The Council has unreasonably delayed responding to Mr B’s complaint about the consent form he was asked to sign. It has agreed to complete Stage 2 of the statutory complaints procedure, and to offer to make a payment to Mr B to recognise the time and trouble he has gone to in pursuing the matter, and the delay to Stage 2.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains about the Council’s response to his concerns about the consent form he was asked to sign regarding the sharing of information about his son. He further complains that the Council has unreasonably delayed dealing with his 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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. I have spoken with the complainant about my draft decision and considered his comments.

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My assessment

The statutory complaints procedure

8. 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.
9. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
10. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s Stage 1 response, they can ask that it is considered at Stage 2. 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 2.
11. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the Stage 2 investigation, they can ask for a Stage 3 review by an independent panel. The Council must hold the panel within 30 days, and then issue a final response within 20 days of the panel hearing.

Analysis

12. The Council is considering Mr B’s complaint under the statutory procedure for children’s services complaints. Mr B requested escalation to Stage 2 of the procedure in April 2020. Stage 2 should have been completed in July 2020 and is therefore already delayed by more than a year. Mr B has demonstrated that he has repeatedly asked the Council to expedite the matter.
13. The Council has appointed an Investigating Officer and Independent Person and the Stage 2 process has commenced. However, an investigation is likely to conclude the Council’s failure to meet statutory timeframes is fault, which has put Mr B to unnecessary time and trouble, and delayed resolution of the complaint.

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Agreed action

14. The Council has agreed that within two months of the date of my final decision it will:

• complete the Stage 2 process and advise Mr B of his right to escalate the complaint to the final stage, and

• offer to make a payment of £350 to Mr B to recognise the time and trouble he has gone to in pursuing the matter and the delay to Stage 2.

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Final decision

15. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman