Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council have continued to fail to properly investigate her complaint about not being provided with enough guidance and support as a new foster carer. She said the investigation was not independent and no evidence was produced to support the Council’s findings. The Ombudsman does not find fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council have continued to fail to properly investigate her complaint about not being provided with enough guidance and support as a new foster carer, the way she was treated throughout the placement and the allegation process she was put through. She said the investigation was not independent and no evidence was produced to support the Council’s findings. Mrs X said this has caused her significant stress and caused her to be financially disadvantaged through not being paid.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke with Mrs X about her complaint. I considered documents provided by her and the Council.
5. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my revised draft decision. I considered their comments before making my final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened?

The Council’s corporate complaints policy

6. Under the Council’s corporate complaints procedure, a complaint will be considered at stage one by an appropriate officer within the service complained of. The Council aims to provide a response within 20 working days. However, it is at the discretion of the complaints manager to escalate a complaint directly to stage two if they consider the situation requires it.
7. If a complaint progresses to stage two, either the complaints manager or a senior manager within the department complained of (who has not previously been involved in the complaint) will consider the complaint.
8. If the complainant is not satisfied with the Council’s stage two response, they can complain to us.

What did happen?

9. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
10. Mrs X was approved as a foster carer for the Council in March 2021 and a teenager was placed with her the following month. This placement broke down and ended in an unplanned way in June 2021. This was followed by the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and supervising social worker meeting with Mrs X to prepare an independent report for the fostering panel. The fostering panel considered the reports in November 2021 and decided Mrs X’s approval as a foster carer for the Council should be terminated.
11. Mrs X previously complained to the Council about the lack of support and information she received during the placement and complained to us in 2022 (Ref: 21018414). She said the Council had refused to investigate her complaint. The Council said this was refused on the basis that the complaints process could not revisit or review any matters that had been considered as part of the review process.
12. Our decision issued in November 2022 stated that Mrs X’s complaints about the way she was treated could not have been appropriately dealt with under the IRO procedure. It said these issues are separate from matters considered by the IRO, whose report was in relation to whether Mrs X should be de-registered as a foster carer. It said although the report referred to Mrs X’s concerns about lack of support and information, the IRO and fostering panel do not consider matters from a complaint’s perspective. The Council agreed to begin an investigation into Mrs X’s complaint under its corporate complaints process.
13. The Council escalated Mrs X’s complaint to stage two in November 2022. It said it had read the paperwork completed and submitted to the fostering panel, including the foster carer annual review report, IRO review report, Mrs X’s responses to the reports, the panel minutes and the agency decision makers letters. But it said it was evidenced within the IRO report that Mrs X was provided with all the support it would expect to see. It did not uphold Mrs X’s complaint.
14. Mrs X complained to us the following month. She said the stage two complaint was carried out by a manager who had previous involvement with her complaint and was not independent. She said the Council had not provided any evidence to support its response.

Analysis

15. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
16. In our previous decision issued in November 2022, the Council agreed to begin an investigation into Mrs X’s complaint under its corporate complaints process. The Council’s policy states under stage two, either the complaints manager or a senior manager within the department complained of (who has not been previously involved in the complaint) will consider the complaint. In this case, the stage two investigation was carried out by a manager who has not had previous involvement in the case. This is because Mrs X’s previous complaint to the Council never got to the stage of being reviewed by the manager as the Council had refused to investigate as stated in paragraph 11. Therefore, as the Council had followed the correct process, I cannot find fault.
17. In our previous decision it was also stated that Mrs X’s complaint about the way she was treated could not have been appropriately dealt with under the IRO procedure as the IRO and fostering panel do not consider matters from a complaint’s perspective. In the Council’s complaints response, it said it relied on the IRO report, a chronology which outlined support that was given to Mrs Y and undertook a review of the case files. Whilst the IRO does not consider matters from a complaint’s perspective, the complaint has now been considered by someone independent to that process and has been considered from a complaint’s perspective. The Council has followed the correct process and I therefore cannot question its decision.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation on the basis there was no fault in the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman