Summary: Mrs G complains the Council did not take her grandchildren into care when they came to live with her in December 2020. The Council says it was a private family arrangement. There does not appear to be any fault in the Council’s decision.

The complaint

1. Mrs G complains the Council did not take her grandchildren into care when they came to live with her in December 2020. The children returned to their mother in March 2021 and Mrs G was concerned for their welfare. She believes they would have been better protected if they were ‘looked after’ by the Council. Mrs G is unhappy with her dealings with the Council, and the Council’s response to her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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

3. I have considered:
• information provided by Mrs G; and
• information provided by the Council, including its response to Mrs G’s complaint.
4. I invited Mrs G and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs G is the children’s paternal grandmother. The children’s father, Mr F, and the children’s mother, Ms M, have separated. The children lived with Ms M.
6. Mr F raised concerns about Ms M’s care of the children with the Police in December 2020. At the time, there was a warrant for his arrest for breaching a non-molestation order.
7. The Police visited Ms M and decided conditions at her home were unsuitable. The Police telephoned Mrs G and asked her to collect Mr F’s youngest child from school and look after her while checks were carried out. Mr F’s oldest child was already staying with Mrs G. Mr F brought him to stay earlier in the week. The Police made a referral to the Council.
8. The Council held a multi-agency meeting five days later. The Council concluded the children were safe with Mrs G and it would work with Ms M to improve conditions in her home so the children could return to her care.
9. The children returned to Ms M in March 2021. Mrs G says her relationship with Ms M broke down as a result of her dealings with the Council and she did not see her grandchildren. She was concerned for their welfare as she does not believe Ms M can keep them safe.

Mrs G’s complaint to the Council

10. Mrs G complained to the Council in March 2021 on the same day the Council decided the children could return to Ms M. Mrs G did not agree with the Council’s plan. She said she had been advised the Council had ‘placed’ the children with her and wanted the Council to acknowledge the children were ‘in care’ and Ms M could not remove them. She said she was unhappy with her dealings with the Council, particularly the preference the Council had shown to Ms M.
11. The Council explained Mrs G’s care of the children was a private arrangement arranged by Mr F and facilitated by the Police. It said the Council’s plan had always been to return the children to their mother.
12. Unhappy with the Council’s response, Mrs M asked the Council to respond at the second stage of the complaints process. The Council appointed an investigator and independent person. They, too, concluded the care of the children was a private arrangement.
13. Mrs G remained dissatisfied, but rather than use the third and final stage of the complaints process, she complained to the Ombudsman.

Consideration

14. Mrs G was concerned for her grandchildren’s welfare. This is understandable as she had not seen them for a long time when she complained. However, the Ombudsman does not investigate Mrs G’s concerns. The children’s father, Mr F, can raise any concerns with the Council and complain if he is not satisfied with the Council response.
15. My job is to consider what happened in December 2020 when the children came to stay with Mrs G. Mrs G believes the Council made the arrangements and as a result her grandchildren are ‘looked after children’ and the responsibility of the Council. The Council says it was not involved.
16. When a Council has concerns about parents’ ability to care for their children, it can ask relatives or other suitable adults to foster the children. These children are looked after children. Their care is supervised by the Council and the Council has a duty to provide support. This only applies when the Council made the arrangements for the children to be fostered.
17. The Council says it did not arrange for the children to stay with Mrs G in December 2019. It clearly supported the arrangement, however. Had Mrs G not cared for the children, it is likely the Council would have had to make alternative arrangements.
18. Nevertheless, on the evidence I have seen, it appears the Council is right this was a private arrangement between Mr F and Mrs G. Mr F had already brought his oldest child to stay with him at Mrs G’s house before the Police visited Ms M. The Police, not the Council, asked Mrs G to collect the youngest child from school. If the Police had known how to contact Mr F, it is likely they would have asked him directly, but he did not want the Police to know where he was staying as there was a warrant for his arrest.
19. Finally, Mrs G did not object to the arrangements at the time.
20. For these reasons, I find no fault with the Council’s decision it was a private family arrangement that the children should stay with Mrs G.
21. Mrs G complains the Council gave Ms M preferential treatment by making multiple attempts to visit her at home. She complains a social worker was in bed and eating toast during a video call. Neither amounts to fault.

Events since Mrs G’s complaint to the Council

22. Mrs G says things did not work out for the children with their mother and the Council has now taken them into care and placed them with her. She believes the children could have been spared a lot of distress if the Council had not attempted to return them to their mother.
23. It is regrettable the Council’s plan to support the children’s return to their mother was unsuccessful, but this does not affect my view of the complaint.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation. There is no fault by the Council in deciding it was a private family arrangement for Mrs G to care for her grandchildren, or in the way it dealt with Mrs G when working towards the children’s return to their mother.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman