Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about staying put payments because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response and no worthwhile outcome achievable.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains the Council failed to serve notice to end a “staying put” agreement for two young people living with her. She believes the Council owes her money. She says she got into debt as a result and became homeless.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council approved Ms M as a foster carer for two siblings in 2023. They continued to live with Ms M under “staying put” arrangements once they reached adulthood. In June 2025, they decided they no longer wanted to live with Ms M and left. Ms M placed their belongings in storage. The Council collected their belongings in early August.
6. Ms M complained the Council ended the “staying put” payments without giving her 28 days’ notice. The Council responded to Ms M’s complaint at all three stages of the children’s complaints process. This is a formal procedure, set out in law, which councils must follow to investigate certain types of complaint. It involves:
• a written response from the Council (Stage 1);
• the appointment of an independent investigator to prepare a report (Stage 2); and, if the person making the complaint requests
• an independent panel to consider their representations (Stage 3).
7. When a council has investigated a complaint under this process, we would not normally re-investigate it. We may consider whether a council has properly considered the findings and recommendations of the independent investigator and review panel, and any remedy the Council offers.
8. The independent investigator and complaint review panel found the Council:
• attempted to resolve financial and placement issues and respond to the young people’s wishes, but
• did not issue a formal notice to end the staying put agreement,
• reduced and interrupted payments without clear prior communication, and
• delayed communicating decisions to Ms M.
9. The Council accepted the findings and recommendations of the independent investigator and review panel, but did not believe it owed Ms M any money as it had made payments for some time after the young people had left Ms M’s care. The Council agreed to provide a schedule of the payments made.
10. Ms M has received the schedule and remains dissatisfied. She asked us to consider her complaint.
11. There has already been an independent investigation of Ms M’s complaint, and the Council has accepted its findings and recommendations. There is nothing we could add to the independent investigation that has already taken place.
12. As a result of Ms M’s complaints, the Council has paid staying put allowance for a further 45 days after the young people left her care. It has also made a contribution towards the cost of storage for their belongings during the time was it was also paying Ms M for their care. The Council also made a symbolic payment to acknowledge the impact of its mistakes.
13. The Council did not handle the end of the staying put arrangements well, but the payments it has since made are equivalent to the 28 days’ notice Ms M sought from the time the young people left her care, plus a further 17 days. The payments made by the Council are equal to, or greater than, any remedy we would be likely to recommend. There is, therefore, no worthwhile outcome achievable by further investigation.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response and no worthwhile outcome achievable.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman