Lancashire County Council (13 020 158)

Category : Children's care services > Looked after children

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 05 Aug 2015

Summary

Complaint from a mother that the council failed to involve her properly in its assessments and decisions about her teenage son.

The complaint

Complaint from a mother that the council failed to involve her properly in its assessments and decisions about her teenage son. In particular she complains about a period from August 2013 to the end of December 2013 when her son lived with his father. The woman believes that she could have made a valuable contribution to the council's knowledge and understanding of her son, and his father's ability to cope with his behaviours.

When the woman complained to the council, there were delays in the statutory children's services complaints procedure that caused her unnecessary distress. The council has accepted fault and it offered the woman £250 for her time and trouble in pursuing the complaint but she feels this is not adequate.

During our investigation it came to our attention that the son may have been caused an injustice because the council had placed him in bed and breakfast accommodation when the statutory guidance says this is never suitable for a young person of 16 or 17.

Finding

The Ombudsman found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

For the women we recommend the council:

  • apologise for failing to involve her in its 'child in need' assessments and for the additional time it took to consider her complaint at all three stages of the statutory complaints procedure.
  • pay her £200 for the frustration caused by not being able to contribute to her son's 'child in need' assessments.
  • increase the offer it made to her from £250 to £300 for the additional time and trouble she spent pursuing her complaint over that allowed by the statutory complaints guidance for the delays at stage 3.

To prevent injustice to others we recommend the council:

  • ensures it involves both parents in its 'child in need' assessments unless there are specific and recorded safeguarding reasons not to. It should also make sure it shares copies of those assessments to parents where it is safe to do so, in a timely matter, redacted where necessary.
  • improves its policy for homeless 16 and 17 year olds to include reference to bed and breakfast accommodation not being suitable even in an emergency. It should then make sure its children's services' staff are aware of this condition. 
  • ensures it does not place homeless 16 and 17 year olds in bed and breakfast accommodation (including the use of unsupported hotels) even in an emergency. If the council decides to act in breach of the statutory guidance, the decision to do so should continue to be made by the Head of Service. The Head of Service's decision, and the reasons for it, should be recorded on the child's file.
  • ensures it records important decisions on the child's case file when considering providing accommodation to 16 and 17 year olds covering such areas as: 
    • whether a section 20 duty arises.
    • whether it is obliged to conduct a new Initial Assessment of the child's needs now they are homeless.
    • how it has explained the implications of becoming a 'looked after child' to the young person.
    • any refusal by the young person to become a 'looked after child' and how it explained that assistance may be available to them from the housing department.
    • any contact with the council's housing department after a young person who requires accommodation refuses to become a 'looked after child'.
  • carry out a review of whether it is meeting its sufficiency duty regarding the provision of accommodation to its 'looked after children'.

The council has agreed to carry out these recommendations.

Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 11 October 2016

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