Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to protect her when she was a child in care in 1994. The Council has agreed to investigate the complaint via the statutory complaint procedure.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council failed to protect her when she was a looked after child living at a children’s home in 1994. She says that ‘a known pimp’, Mr Y, removed her from care and took her to Scotland. She says in August 1994, Mr Y removed her from care again and took her to another city. Ms X says she told her social worker what had happened and that she had been physically and sexually assaulted. She says she returned from one of these trips with an iron imprint on her back. She says the social worker took her to a clinic but did not inform the police. Ms X says these events have led to problems later in life and she wants the Council to be honest about what went wrong.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has agreed to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Ms X’s information, comments, and discussed the complaint with her by telephone. I have considered the Council’s reply to Ms X’s complaint and discussed the complaint with it.

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What I found

4. On 13 September 2018 the Council wrote to Ms X and refused to investigate her complaint. This was because the complaint was made more than one year after the events and the Council considered it was not possible to deal with the complaint ‘effectively and efficiently’. The Council’s reasons were that: a) the management team had changed, b) policies and procedures of the time are not available, and c) it lacked knowledge of the safeguarding procedures at the time.
5. The Ombudsman has discussed the refusal to investigate with the Council. Ms X was a child in care and therefore her records should be available. The Children Act 1989 remains the key law, and government guidance from the time is known. The Council has since confirmed that it has Ms X’s records and that the events are ‘documented’.

Analysis

6. The Council has reviewed the decision not to investigate the complaint and has decided that it can investigate. I consider this is an appropriate way forward. Ms X may return to the Ombudsman if she is not satisfied with the outcome.

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Agreed action

7. The Council has agreed to investigate Ms X’s complaint via the Children Act 1989 statutory complaint procedure.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to protect her when she was a child in care in 1994. The Council has agreed to investigate the complaint via the statutory complaint procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman