Liverpool City Council (25 021 876)
Category : Children's care services > Disabled children
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the support provided to his family and the Councils’ decision regarding which team should manage this support. The Council is currently investigating his concerns under the children’s statutory complaint’s procedure. An investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council refused to provide support to his family under its Children with Disabilities Team. He also complained the support it was providing was insufficient. He wants the Council to provide increased support to his family and for this to be managed by the Children with Disabilities Team.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In response to my enquiries, the Council has confirmed it is currently investigating Mr X’s concerns under the children’s statutory complaints procedure.
- The statutory procedure was set up to considers complaints about children’s services. It is the appropriate route to consider the matters Mr X raises.
- We will not investigate this complaint as it is currently being considered under the statutory process. If Mr X is dissatisfied once he has completed all three stages of the statutory process, it open to him to bring the complaint back to us for further consideration.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council is currently investigating his concerns under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This is an appropriate action to consider the matters raised.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman