Looked after children

London Borough of Ealing (18 015 562)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 04-Jul-2019

Summary: Mr W complained the Council failed to accept an agreement to support him through three years of undergraduate study. The Council was not at fault for saying the agreement it had with Mr W was for him to study a Higher National Diploma rather than a Batchelor of Science degree. But there was no evidence it considered whether supporting Mr W for the final year of study was in Mr W's best interests. It is asked to do that now.

Hartlepool Borough Council (18 018 882)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 28-Jun-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to provide adequate support to Mr Y, a former relevant child, and failed to provide her with financial support when he stayed with her. The Council was not at fault.

Norfolk County Council (18 017 202)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 17-Jun-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council managed contact arrangements between him and his children after they were taken into care. The Council was at fault because it failed to consider this complaint under the statutory children's complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to complete a stage two investigation of Mr X's complaint.

Bournemouth Borough Council (18 007 281)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 03-Jun-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to support the placement of a young person with her family and acted wrongly in de-registering them, causing worry and questioning her professional judgment. There was fault by the Council in some matters, but this did not cause injustice to Mrs X or her family.

Essex County Council (18 013 205)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 29-May-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman upholds the complaint from Ms X about the Council's failure to investigate her complaint. The Council has failed to comply with its legal duties to investigate complaints. This has caused Ms X avoidable delay in receiving a response to the complaints she has made. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X, remind officers of their legal duties, and carry out an investigation once court proceedings have ended.

Cheshire West & Chester Council (18 005 756)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 26-Apr-2019

Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council worked with her when, and after, she was subject to an Interim Care Order. The Council was at fault as it did not properly involve Miss X in care planning. It then delayed accepting she was a care leaver and it failed to escalate her complaint properly through the statutory children's complaint procedures. However, these faults did not cause Miss X a significant injustice. The Council has apologised, arranged support and addressed faults with its officers.

Herefordshire Council (18 000 490)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 25-Apr-2019

Summary: Miss X complains the Council has failed to properly investigate her complaint through the statutory children's complaints procedure. There was fault in the stage 3 panel's decision not to allow Miss X's nominated representative to speak on her behalf. This is because the chair of the panel had previous dealings with her representative when working for the Council and the panel should be independent of the Council. The Council should arrange for a new stage 3 panel to consider the complaint.

Gloucestershire County Council (18 012 432)

Statement Not upheld Looked after children 01-Apr-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman can only investigate one of Mr X's complaints, which is about the Council supervising his contact with his grandchildren. We have not found fault with the Council, which is entitled to decide that contact should be supervised. Of the rest of Mr X's complaints, some are too old, he has no authority to complain about another, and another has been to court, so we have completed our investigation.

Cumbria County Council (18 008 429)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 29-Mar-2019

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to properly investigate a complaint his son made under the children's statutory complaints procedure. The Council failed to meet the timescales under the statutory procedure. It has already offered Mr X's son £250 which is sufficient to remedy any injustice caused by the delays. There was no fault in the way the Council carried out the Stage 2 investigation and Stage 3 review of the complaint.

London Borough of Southwark (17 012 557)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 27-Mar-2019

Summary: The Council did not give Miss B enough support when she left care and subsequently. If the faults had not happened, Miss B would probably not have been evicted from her flat. The Council has agreed to put matters right by paying Miss B £6,000, giving her some other assistance and improving its practices as necessary. During our investigation, the Council also offered Miss B a new home.