Summary: Miss X complained the Council’s children’s services department did not effectively communicate with her when her child was placed into voluntary care arranged by the Council. We found fault because the Council failed to consider her complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This caused Miss X avoidable distress and frustration. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to consider Miss X’s concerns through the statutory procedure and apologise for failing to do this originally. It has also agreed to make a payment to her and issue guidance to staff.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not properly communicate with her when her child, Y, was placed in voluntary care arranged by the Council. She also complains the Council did not consider Y living with her instead of foster carers.
2. She says this has caused her distress and frustration and means Y has had to move to various placements.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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)
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. My investigation begins in summer 2024 when Miss X found out Y was living in a foster placement.
7. My investigation ends in January 2025 when the Council confirmed it had completed its complaints process into Miss X’s summer 2024 complaint.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

8. I have considered all the information Miss X provided and discussed this complaint with her. I have also considered information provided by the Council.
9. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have taken any comments received into consideration before reaching my final decision.

Back to top

What I found

The statutory children’s complaints procedure

10. The law sets out a three-stage statutory procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The procedure was set up to give children and those representing them an opportunity for a thorough independent investigation of their concerns.
11. The statutory procedure has three stages:
• stage 1 is a local resolution by the council;
• stage 2 is an investigation by an investigating officer who will prepare a detailed report and findings. The investigation is overseen by an independent person to ensure its impartiality. The council then issues an adjudication letter which sets out its response to the findings; and
• stage 3 is a review panel with an independent chair to consider any outstanding issues.
12. The law sets out what issues must be considered using the statutory complaints procedure.

The Council’s policy

13. The Council has a children’s social care complaints policy, the most recent version has been in force since March 2023.
14. Relevant sections repeat and mirror the three-stage statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services.

What happened

15. I have set out below a summary of the key events. This is not meant to show everything that happened.
16. Miss X’s young child, Y, does not live with her. Miss X shares parental responsibility with Y’s father.
17. In the summer of 2024, Miss X found out that Y had been placed into voluntary accommodation under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (S20). This agreement meant the Council was responsible for looking after Y on a temporary basis, either in its own accommodation or by carers on its behalf. Miss X says Y had been in the placement for around seven days and she was told this by the Council only when she was due to see Y the next day.
18. Miss X says she was unaware of the placement before this time and was not advised or consulted about it. Miss X says she was not told about subsequent placement changes until after they had happened.
19. Miss X says the Council said she would be assessed to have Y come and live with her.
20. A month after she found out Y was subject to the S20 placement, Miss X made a complaint to the Council over the telephone. She complained:
• she was not being listened to and was the last to know information;
• she had experienced poor communication from Y’s social worker; and
• that meetings and contacts had been cancelled with no notice.
21. Two weeks later, the Council sent its response to Miss X. The Council:
• apologised Miss X felt as she did;
• advised Miss X’s views regarding Y’s care planning were very important and that she would be consulted at every opportunity going forward;
• assured Miss X it had Y’s best interests at heart;
• confirmed that if Y’s social worker was not available there was a duty officer to speak to; and
• confirmed that Miss X’s scheduled contacts with Y would stay the same as much as possible.
22. The Council thanked Miss X for raising her concerns. It did not signpost her to any next steps or explain any escalation process.
23. Miss X contacted the Ombudsman late in 2024. The Council confirmed to us at the beginning of January 2025 that its response sent in summer 2024 was its final response to her complaint.

Analysis

24. Councils should use the children’s statutory complaints procedure for complaints about actions they take to meet their duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989.
25. The Council also has a clear policy of how to deal with such complaints.
26. In the circumstances of this complaint, I am satisfied the Council’s failure to respond to Miss X’s complaint using the children’s statutory complaints procedure was fault. It failed to signpost her to next steps and partly used its corporate process when it should not have done so.
27. As a parent, she met the criteria of someone “who may complain” as per the statutory guidance: Getting the Best from Complaints.
28. In my view, the content of Miss X’s complaint also meets the criteria of “what may be complained about” because she raises concerns about:
• an unwelcome or disputed decision;
• assessment, care management and review; and
• attitude or behaviour of staff.
29. The statutory procedure provides an important, independent route of redress for vulnerable children, young people and those acting on their behalf. The fault meant Miss X had to go part way through the wrong complaints procedure and complain to the Ombudsman unnecessarily. This would have caused frustration and distress. I have made a recommendation below to remedy the injustice caused.

Back to top

Agreed action

30. Within one month of the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action:
• apologise to Miss X for the injustice caused by pursuing her complaint through the corporate complaints procedure needlessly;
• make a symbolic payment to Miss X of £150 to reflect the avoidable distress caused and the time and trouble taken in making her complaint; and
• remind relevant staff of the statutory guidance ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’ particularly around ‘who may complain’ and ‘what may be complained about’. The Council should also draw attention to the Ombudsman’s good practice guidance on the children’s statutory complaints process. The Council should remind staff via training, or a briefing paper, a copy of which can be shared with the Ombudsman.
31. The Council has agreed to commission a stage two investigation into Miss X’s complaint immediately. The investigation should complete within 65 working days of the date of my final decision.
32. The apology written should be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies on making an effective apology.
33. Payments made are in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies.
34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

35. I have now completed my investigation. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing an injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman