Summary: Mrs X complained on behalf of a looked after child, F. Mrs X complained the Council failed to consider F’s wishes and best interest when it removed them from a foster placement and placed them with new foster parents. Mrs X said the Council refused to accept her complaint about the matter. I have discontinued this investigation. This is because Mrs X is not a suitable representative and has not herself suffered any injustice. The Council had already responded to F’s complaint via their advocate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained on behalf of a looked after child, F. Mrs X complained the Council failed to consider F’s wishes and best interests when it removed them from a foster placement and placed them with new foster parents. Mrs X said the Council refused to consider her complaint about the matter and further refused to consider a complaint from F. Mrs X said the matter caused both F and the initial foster parents’ distress and uncertainty. Mrs X wants F returned to original foster placement.

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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 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:

• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mrs X’s complaint to us.
5. I considered information from the Council.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before I made a final decision.

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What I found

What happened

7. F is a looked after child and was placed with foster carers a few years ago.
8. In 2020, the Council decided to move F to new foster carers. Mrs X complained to the Council about the matter. Mrs X said she was acquainted to F due to her relationship with the foster carers. Mrs X said she had helped care for F and her own children were also close with them. Mrs X said the Council had failed to consider F’s wishes and feelings in deciding to move them to different foster carers. Mrs X said the Council had told F they could stay with the foster carers until their 18th birthday. Mrs X said the Council had removed F without letting them say a proper goodbye to the foster carers and had moved them earlier than planned with no warning. Mrs X said F had also complained to the Council about the matter through their advocate.
9. The Council responded to Mrs X. It said it was unable to accept her complaint because she did not hold any parental responsibility for F. Because of this, the Council said it was unable to share any of the case history with Mrs X as that information was sensitive and confidential.
10. Mrs X was unhappy with the Council’s response and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

11. Mrs X’s complaint to us was about the Council’s handling of F’s move to another foster placement. Mrs X said the Council did not act in F’s best interests and it refused to accept hers or F’s complaint about the matter.
12. Mrs X does not hold parental responsibility for F, does not have a regular part or role in their life and has not received consent from them to act on their behalf. Therefore, we cannot share any information with her that we would receive from the Council as part of this investigation. For these reasons, Mrs X is not a suitable representative for this complaint to the Ombudsman.
13. Mrs X said the Council refused to accept F’s complaint. I asked the Council to provide me with information about this. The records I have seen show the Council considered F’s complaint. It is not appropriate to comment any further on this to Mrs X.
14. If the foster parents have cause for complaint, they can raise a complaint with the Council.
15. I have discontinued this investigation because Mrs X is not a suitable representative for this complaint and the Council has responded to F’s complaint.

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Final decision

16. I have discontinued this investigation. The person complaining is not a suitable representative for the person affected by the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman