Isle of Wight Council (19 008 131)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 23-Nov-2020

Summary: The Council failed to provide support to Miss Y as a care leaver, particularly with finding suitable accommodation, after it failed to recognise she was a looked after child between the ages of 16 and 18. To remedy the injustice caused to Miss Y it will apologise, revise its procedures, assess what support Miss Y should receive as a care leaver, and make a payment to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused by fault.

Swindon Borough Council (19 010 610)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 11-Nov-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council's failure to provide information about her deceased daughter's care while she was a Looked after Child. This caused significant distress to Mrs X. The Ombudsman finds the Council to be at fault because it was unable to show it made any meaningful enquiries about what happened the night Mrs X's daughter died. To remedy the injustice caused to Mrs X, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to her, make enquiries about what happened and reflect on its practices.

London Borough of Hillingdon (19 010 940)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 27-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr X complained about a lack of support from his personal adviser in relation to his housing costs. The Council was at fault for a lack of support in resolving problems with Mr X's housing benefit claim and assisting him with managing his service charge arrears between April and December 2018. The Council should apologise and pay him £150 for the worry and frustration caused. The arrears have since been cleared.

Norfolk County Council (19 017 680)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 05-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to facilitate contact with his children from 2014 to 2017. The Council is at fault for not arranging contact and failing to keep Mr X involved in his children's care. The Council should apologise, pay Mr X £650, and take action to improve its service.

Blackpool Borough Council (19 018 321)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 16-Sep-2020

Summary: Ms X complained about the lack of contact she has had with her child, who is in care. She says the Council has cancelled sessions at short notice which means it has failed to meet the contact requirements set by the court. Ms X says this has caused her distress. The Council was not at fault.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (19 014 548)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 21-Aug-2020

Summary: Ms C complains her child has not received satisfactory care since they became looked after by the Council. We do not find grounds to agree this is the case or to criticise the Council for imposing limits on Ms C's contacts with it. But we do note the Council has failed to update Ms C as promised about her child's progress in care. This has caused Ms C injustice as she has not received information it has promised. The Council has accepted these findings. It has agreed to apologise and take steps to ensure better communications with Ms C in the future.

Birmingham City Council (19 012 656)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 20-Aug-2020

Summary: The Council significantly delayed providing Miss B with a copy of her social care records from her time as a looked after child, and it is unlikely that it provided all the records which Miss B was entitled to see. The Council has apologised to Miss B, it is in the process of providing Miss B with all of her records and it has taken action to ensure it keeps a proper record of future disclosures. The Council has agreed to also make a payment to Miss B to remedy her injustice.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (19 008 937)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 20-Aug-2020

Summary: There is no fault by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in relation to this complaint about the way in which it has handled Mr S's behaviour and his repeated use of the children's statutory complaints procedure. Nor is there fault in relation to the complaints Mr S had made about the way in which it has managed concerns he has raised in complaints related to the care provided to his children who are looked after by the Council.

Northumberland County Council (19 012 899)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 19-Aug-2020

Summary: Mr F complains the Council failed to support him and protect him from abuse and bullying by staff and residents whilst he was in care from 1995 to 1999. The Council has accepted there was fault and has already apologised and made a payment to Mr F, remedying the injustice caused.

Hertfordshire County Council (19 016 776)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 29-Jul-2020

Summary: Ms X complains of poor care of her daughter while in a children's home, leaving her daughter at risk. The Council accepted it failed to give Ms X the information it should. It also failed to deal with her complaint about the care through the statutory procedure it must use. This is part of a pattern of faulty complaint handling by the Council in children's social care cases, which it has agreed to rectify. It will apologise to Ms X for the fault found and immediately start a second stage investigation under the statutory procedure.