Summary: Miss B complained the Council has taken away respite support provided for her disabled son, without considering the impact on her. The Council was at fault for its failure to consider Miss B’s complaint through the children’s statutory complaint procedure. Because of the fault, Miss B suffered distress and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and consider her complaint through the children’s statutory complaint procedure.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains the Council has taken away respite support provided for her disabled son, who I will refer to as C, without considering the impact on her mental and physical health. She also complains the Council’s communication with her has been poor.
2. Miss B says her mental and physical health has been impacted by the Council’s actions, and C is suffering as a result, as his care needs are not being met.
3. Miss B would like the Council to provide what she considers to be an acceptable level of service and care. She would also like better communication from the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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)
6. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

7. I read Miss B’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
8. I considered evidence provided by Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Miss B 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

10. 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.
11. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.

Section 17 duty to safeguard and promote welfare

16. The Children Act 1989, section 17, requires councils to safeguard and promote the welfare of ‘children in need’ in their area, including disabled children, by providing appropriate services for them. All disabled children are regarded as ‘children in need’ and entitled to an assessment under section 17.
17. The Chronically Sick and Disabled Person’s Act (CSDPA) 1970, section 2, requires councils, when undertaking an assessment of a child under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, to consider whether it is necessary to provide support of the type referred to in section 2.
18. Services which can be provided under section 2 CSDPA include:

• practical assistance in the home including home based short breaks / respite care;
• recreational / educational facilities including community based short breaks; and
• travel and other assistance.

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What happened

19. This is a summary of events outlining key facts and it does not cover everything that has happened in this case.
20. In 2019, the Council agreed Miss B’s child, C, would receive 24 nights overnight respite a year. In June 2024, following a review of C’s care package, the Council decided to withdraw the respite as it did not consider there was an identified need for C to receive overnight respite. Miss B complained to the Council about this decision.
21. The Council considered the complaint through the corporate complaint procedure, and in July 2024 it sent Miss B its stage one response to her complaint. The Council told Miss B it did not uphold her complaint because there was no evidence the overnight respite remained a need for C.
22. Shortly after, Miss B raised a stage two complaint with the Council. She told the Council it had not fully considered the impact of its decision on her mental wellbeing and her ability to care for C.
23. In September 2024, the Council sent Miss B its stage two response to her complaint. It told her there continued to be no evidence that regular short breaks are required for C.

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Analysis

24. Miss B raised a complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to the care and support of C, which included matters under section 17. These are matters covered by the children’s statutory complaint procedure and so the Council should have considered Miss B’s complaint through that procedure. The Council has recognised this and has told us it acknowledges it incorrectly handled Miss B’s complaint as a corporate complaint. This was fault, which has caused Miss B avoidable distress and frustration.
25. The children’s statutory complaint 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. Because of this, we expect councils to complete the complaints procedure. I have therefore not investigated Miss B’s complaint to the Council about the care of C and the withdrawal of the respite.

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Action

26. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Miss B by the fault I have identified, the Council will take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Miss B for the injustice caused to her by the Council’s fault. This apology should be in accordance with our guidance Making an effective apology.
• Begin an investigation of Miss B’s complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory complaint procedure, ensuring it meets the timescales as set out in the procedure.
27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

28. I uphold Miss B’s complaint and find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman