Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to return the complainant’s grandson to his mother. This is because she does not have authority to complain on his behalf, and there is no fault in the way the Council has dealt with the complainant.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs D, says that the Council’s social services:
• Has returned her grandson, for whom she was previously caring under a court child arrangements order, to his mother, who Mrs D feels is unfit to look after him properly and constitutes a risk to his health and safety;
• Has not considered properly all the information regarding why the child was originally removed from his mother’s care; and
• Has not responded properly to her concerns and complaints.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Mrs D and by the Council. I also sent Mrs D an initial view and a draft decision for her comments.

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What I found

6. In 2018, a child arrangements order made in court ordered that Mrs D’s grandchildren were to live with her and her husband and that the Council should try to progress the children’s reunification with their mother.
7. The reunification was not successful and Mrs D and her husband applied for a Special Guardianship Order.
8. However, Mrs D later felt that the children could not remain together, for safety reasons, and asked the Council to take her grandson into voluntary care.
9. The Council placed him back with his mother, and Mrs D complained about the decision as she felt his mother was unfit to look after him and constituted a threat to his health and safety. She says that the Council did not consider the factors that led originally to her caring for her grandchildren.
10. The Council did not uphold the complaint, as it says that his mother retains parental responsibility for him and was willing to care for him, so he could not be put into voluntary care.
11. Mrs D now complains to the Ombudsman about the decision, and the refusal of the Council to consider properly the concerns she has raised about her grandson’s care with his mother.
12. We will not investigate the elements of the complaint relating to Mrs D’s grandson as she does not have parental responsibility for him.
13. I have considered how the Council responded to Mrs D’s concerns. It addressed all of the issues that she raised in its complaint responses to her. I appreciate that she does not agree with its responses, but I consider they have been properly addressed.

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Final decision

14. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complainant cannot represent her grandson, and there is no fault in the way the Council has responded to her.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman