Looked after children

London Borough of Newham (19 006 182)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 09-Mar-2020

Summary: The complainant alleges that the Council has failed to pay all the allowances he was entitled to as a child, in its care, and since he became a care leaver. The Ombudsman considers that the Council has been at fault by not carrying out an independent investigation of the complainant's concerns under the Children Act 1989 statutory complaints process. The Council has now agreed to do this. Therefore, this resolves the complaint and the Ombudsman is closing the complaint.

West Berkshire Council (19 010 574)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 24-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council has failed to act on recommendations made by a court-appointed expert in relation to his daughter. Parts of the complaint are outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction. The Ombudsman will not investigate the rest of the complaint further as it could not achieve the outcome Mr X is looking for.

Herefordshire Council (19 006 691)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 19-Feb-2020

Summary: The Council failed to provide Miss X's son with appropriate levels of care and support whilst he was in the Council's care. The Council identified this during its investigation of Miss X's complaint but failed to provide a remedy for the injustice this caused. The Council should pay Miss X £1500 to recognise the distress caused and her time and trouble pursuing this complaint. The Council should also pay Miss X's son £1000 to recognise the uncertainty he has been caused.

Birmingham City Council (19 000 728)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 03-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council refused to investigate historical abuse allegations he made against his former foster parent and did not support him when he transitioned from foster care to university. He said this caused him significant emotional distress and impeded his social and educational development. The Council oversaw a satisfactory investigation by another Council into the allegations and has agreed to review Mr X's other complaint points. There was no fault in the Council's actions.

London Borough of Hillingdon (18 010 273)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 28-Jan-2020

Summary: The complainant is concerned about the Council's actions before and when her grandchildren were in care and about the lack of appropriate support to her and the grandchildren under her Special Guardianship Order. The Ombudsman finds some fault on the first complaint, causing an injustice. The Council has agreed the recommended action. On the second complaint, the Ombudsman considers the Council has provided a fair explanation for its actions. The Ombudsman has therefore completed his investigation and is closing the complaint.

Northumberland County Council (19 002 538)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 28-Jan-2020

Summary: Ms X complains the Council has not provided her with appropriate support as a care leaver. She also complains it has placed unreasonable restrictions on her contact and of poor complaint handling. There was no fault in the support the Council provided to her, or in how it made its decisions to impose contact restrictions and discontinue the investigation into her complaint. There was delay in providing her with an initial complaint response, but the Council has already apologised for this, which is an appropriate remedy. There was also delay in providing her with a copy of her pathway plan, but this did not cause Ms X a significant injustice. The Council should ensure it provides care leavers with a copy of their pathway plan in a timely manner.

Birmingham City Council (18 015 286)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 13-Jan-2020

Summary: Miss B and Ms C complain the Council has failed to support their contact with Miss B's child, D (Ms C's grandchild) who is looked after in long-term foster care. They say the Council has not allowed them input to any decisions relating to D or taken their views into account. There is evidence of fault and the Council has agreed to apologise, make payments and change its procedures, particularly with Child in Care meetings going forward.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (18 014 759)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 21-Nov-2019

Summary: Ms X complains the Council delayed dealing with her complaints about support for her and her daughter. Ms X also complains the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments for her mental health issues. There were delays by the Council in dealing with Ms X's complaints and it failed to properly respond to her requests for reasonable adjustments. The Council should apologise to Ms X and provide her with support. The Council should also take action to improve its services.

Dorset Council (19 003 802)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 14-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation of this complaint, about child safeguarding concerns. This is because an investigation would not achieve anything meaningful.

Herefordshire Council (18 019 149)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 09-Oct-2019

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to provide him with appropriate support as a care leaver whilst he completed his educational programme. He says this has affected his health and caused him financial hardship and distress. The Council is at fault, as it delayed in providing him with appropriate support. It has agreed to apologise to Mr X, pay him £300 to acknowledge the distress caused, confirm its duty to support him until the end of the educational programme as set out in his pathway plan and review its procedures.