Summary: The Ombudsman does not propose to investigate this complaint about the Council’s action in relation to contact between the complainant and his son. This is because the majority of the complaint issues are late. We cannot add to the Council’s response regarding current actions or achieve the outcome that the complainant wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr V, says that the Council:
• Provided an inaccurate assessment report about him in 2017;
• Made untrue promises of support for him, which did not materialise, in 2018;
• Does not allow him adequate contact with his son and does not pass on his letters; and
• Does not provide him with adequate information about his son’s welfare and progress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the information provided by Mr V’s advocate and have sent a draft decision for his comments.

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What I found

6. Mr V has a son who is a looked after child.
7. Mr V complains that when decisions were made regarding his son’s care and contact, the Council provided an assessment of him which was inaccurate. He says further that a social worker promised him support which did not materialise.
8. We will not investigate these issues because the complaint is made late. We cannot investigate complaints about events known to the complainant more than 12 months previously unless there are good reasons to do so. In this case, the actions above took place in 2016-18. Although Mr V feels that he was not able to make his complaint about these matters earlier, I have seen no good reasons for the Council or the LGSCO to consider the matter now.
9. Mr V also complains that the level of contact that he has with his son is inadequate, and he feels that his son may not be receiving the letters sent. Additionally he is unhappy about the level of information he is being given regarding his son’s wellbeing and progress.
10. The Council responded to these points in 2019 by explaining that letter box contact was agreed and that Mr V’s letters are kept for his son, but that at present his son’s therapeutic team considered that communication was upsetting for him. It said that the child’s welfare was at the heart of the decision.
11. The Council further said that the risk assessment carried out in 2017 has concluded that only basic information should be given to Mr V regarding his son, but it provided contact details for a social worker if Mr V would like the risk assessment now reviewed.
12. The Council has now updated its response to the above points. It explains that it no longer holds Parental Responsibility for Mr V’s son as he is now subject to a Special Guardianship Order. As such, the Council has no responsibility for deciding contact, with or without a risk assessment: it is a decision for the guardians.
13. It is now also for the guardians to decide if they wish to agree to letterbox contact, though the Council is willing to discuss it with the guardians if Mr V wishes.
14. I do not consider that investigation by the LGSCO could add anything to these responses or achieve Mr V’s desired outcomes.

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Final decision

15. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because part of the complaint is late, and we cannot achieve the complainant’s desired outcomes or add to the Council’s response regarding on-going issues.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman