Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate the substantive part of this complaint about alleged Council failings relating to care arrangements for a child. This is because the complaint was made late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. The Ombudsman will not investigate other parts of the complaint which are best addressed by the courts or where there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice to the complainants.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I refer to here as Mr and Mrs X, say the Council failed to provide accurate and adequate advice and support in relation to care proceedings involving Mr X’s son B, and his subsequent transfer into their care. They also complain of inadequate ongoing support.

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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.
5. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• there is another body better placed to consider the complaint.

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

6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Mr and Mrs X and by the Council. I spoke to Mrs X. I have also sent Mr and Mrs X a copy of a draft version of this decision and have considered their comments on it.

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What I found

8. Mr X’s son, B, was the subject of care proceedings in 2017. He was placed in the care of Mr and Mrs X in 2018, under a “Placement with Parent Agreement”, having never previously been in his father’s care. He remained a “looked after child” under a care order.
9. Mr and Mrs X have complained about the advice given by social services during the care proceedings, and about inadequate support from the Council at the time B was transferred into their care.
10. I will not investigate this part of the complaint because it is made late. We do not investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons. Late complaints are those made more than 12 months after the complainant has become aware of what the Council has done. I can see no good reasons to investigate Mr and Mrs X’s late complaints in relation to the care proceedings and the transfer of care, as investigation is unlikely to add anything to the Council’s findings and actions.
11. When I spoke to Mrs X, she complained the Council was refusing to apply for B’s care order to be discharged because Mr X does not have parental responsibility for B. Mr and Mrs X believe parental responsibility was required in order to have their son under their care via a Placement with Parent Agreement and that they should have been supported to obtain this. The Council’s view is that parental responsibility is not necessary for a Placement with Parent agreement, but that Mr X was within his rights to seek this if he wished. The Council also told me it wished to discharge the care order but that recommendations from the Independent Reviewing Officer first needed to be resolved. I will not investigate these parts of the complaint as Mr X has the option of applying to the courts for a statement of parental responsibility. We cannot interfere in the discharge of a care order, which is also a matter for the courts.
12. Mr and Mrs X further complained of inadequate financial help from the Council in meeting B’s day to day needs through 2019. The Placement with Parent Agreement stated Mr and Mrs X would support B by claiming benefits and were not entitled to further money. The Council had nevertheless made a support payment to Mr X and has provided financial help for B in the form of clothing allowances and other discretionary payments. There is no evidence of fault by the Council in respect of this part of the complaint.
13. Finally, Mr and Mrs X complained of an inadequate response by the Council to their concerns over B’s behaviour after he moved in with them, including an occasion when he went missing. They also said a social worker had been disrespectful. The Council conceded it had failed to follow its policy of interviewing missing children on their return. While there is some evidence of fault by the Council, there is insufficient evidence of significant injustice to Mr and Mrs X to warrant investigation.

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Final decision

14. There are no good reasons to investigate the complaints which were made late. Other parts of the complaint will not be investigated because: the courts offer a remedy or are better placed to consider the complaint; there is no evidence of fault by the Council or there is insufficient evidence of significant injustice to Mr and Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman