Looked after children

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.

Durham County Council (19 000 152)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 07-Oct-2019

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council's decisions regarding a temporary placement for her grandchild and the contact arrangements for her son and his children. The Ombudsman has stopped investigating the complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault and we cannot achieve the outcomes Ms X and her son want.

London Borough of Wandsworth (19 001 453)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 04-Oct-2019

Summary: Miss X complains about the way the Council handled her complaint about the service she received from the housing advisors in its Future First Team. She says it took too long to deal with the complaint and its responses have failed to address the concerns she raised, as she is still not getting the support she needs. Likewise, she feels it has not acted to remedy the injustice caused by its faults and states the payments it has offered her are insufficient. The Ombudsman has found the Council was at fault for not ensuring the stage two investigation into Miss X's complaint was completed within the requisite timeframe. However, we have found the actions it has taken adequately remedies the injustice caused by this fault and those already identified by the investigation.

West Sussex County Council (18 017 495)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 27-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms C, who was a child in the Council's care, says the Council is at fault for offering to fund her accommodation at university only if she lives with her former foster family from whom she is estranged. The Council is at fault. It cannot insist Ms C continues to live with the foster family against her will. This is an injustice. The Council has a duty to provide accommodation while she is studying. It should fund alternative accommodation for her.

Liverpool City Council (18 013 137)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 24-Sep-2019

Summary: the Council delayed recognising Ms B's agreement to care for her granddaughter was not a private arrangement which delayed provision of funding. An apology, agreement to backdate the fostering allowance to 2013, additional payment to Miss B, review of the Council's policy and training for officers is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

North Lincolnshire Council (18 013 800)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 17-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council handled the cases of her two children who are subject to care orders. The Council was at fault as it took too long to respond to Ms X's complaint, for which it has already apologised. It delayed taking substantive action when the court ordered it to arrange contact between Ms X and one of her children, causing Ms X stress and frustration. The Council was also at fault as it delayed considering Ms X's request for family therapy and then did not clearly communicate its decision not to arrange this. This caused confusion for Ms X. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay Ms X £150.

London Borough of Havering (18 000 029)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 11-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council's actions after it took her children into care. There was no fault in how the Council dealt with Ms X's complaints. I will not investigate Ms X's other complaints because they are about issues which are outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction.

Lancashire County Council (18 014 601)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 27-Aug-2019

Summary: The complainant is concerned that the Council is failing to abide by the contact arrangements to her granddaughter, as ordered by the Court. The Ombudsman does not find fault in the Council's earlier actions but there is now an opportunity to improve contact arrangements for the complainant if in the interests of her granddaughter. The Council has accepted this. The Ombudsman has therefore completed his investigation and is closing the complaint.