Summary: Miss C complained about failures by the Council relating to the care of three of her children who are looked after children in foster care. We find the Council is at fault for failing to deal with Miss C’s complaint through the statutory children’s complaints process. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Miss C complained about failures by the Council relating to the care of three of her children who are looked after children in foster care. She is unhappy about the Council’s communication with her and the appropriateness of the foster placements. She also says the Council has failed to handle contact with her children properly.
2. Miss C says she currently has no contact with her children because of the Council’s actions and this has caused much distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
5. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information Miss C submitted with her complaint. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response.
7. Miss C and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Children’s statutory complaints process

8. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
9. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
10. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. The guidance says once a council has accepted a complaint at stage one, it must ensure the complaint continues to stage two and three if that is the complainant’s wish.
11. At stage two of the procedure, councils appoint an investigator and an independent person who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel.
12. The guidance says who can complain and what they can complain about. For example, a complaint may arise because of many things relating to statutory social services functions such as:

• concern about the quality or appropriateness of a service;
• delivery or non-delivery of services including complaints procedures;
• quantity, frequency, change or cost of a service;
• attitude or behaviour of staff; and
• the impact on a child or young person of the application of a local authority policy.

13. The Ombudsman would normally expect a council and complainant to follow the full complaints procedure. The guidance sets out the circumstances in which a complaint can be referred to the Ombudsman without completing all three stages. This can only happen when the stage two investigation is robust with all complaints upheld. Councils must show they agree to meet most of the complainant’s desired outcomes and have a clear action plan for delivery.

What happened

14. Miss C has eight children. Three of her children are looked after children in foster care. A looked after child is any child who is subject to a care order or accommodated away from their family by a council. The child becomes looked after when a council has accommodated them for a continuous period of longer than 24 hours.
15. Miss C complained to the Council in August 2020. She said she was concerned about her son’s (D) safety and the conduct of the foster carer. She asked for him to be returned to her care. She also said his autism spectrum disorder (ASD) referral had gone missing.
16. The Council responded to Miss C’s complaint and explained it held a meeting to discuss how to support D and his foster carers moving forward. It also explained it observed D with his foster carers and he did not present as unhappy or scared. It said D stated he did not wish to return home. Finally, it explained it did not make a further referral regarding D’s ASD because he was no longer displaying the behaviours she had witnessed.
17. Miss C contacted the Council again and said she was unhappy with the Council’s communication with her, the lack of contact with her children and the appropriateness of D’s foster placement.
18. The Council issued a further response to Miss C’s complaint and explained it had fully investigated the issues with D’s foster carer and put proportionate actions in place. In relation to her other son (E), it explained he did not want to contact her, and the social worker regularly asked him for his views on contact. Finally, in relation to Miss C’s son (F), direct contact stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic and so it offered virtual contact instead. However, F refused this and said he did not want to resume direct contact.
19. Miss C raised a further complaint to the Council in December 2020. She said E had been in a car accident and asked why the Council had delayed telling her about it. She also asked for clarity about the circumstances that led to E’s accident. The Council responded to Miss C’s complaint in January 2021. It apologised for the delay in telling her about E’s accident. It also explained how the accident happened.
20. Miss C was unhappy with the Council’s responses to her complaint and so contacted the Ombudsman.
21. When the Council responded to my enquiries, it accepted Miss C’s complaint meets the criteria for consideration under the statutory children’s complaints process. It has now offered to arrange a stage two investigation.

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Analysis

22. The Council is at fault for dealing with Miss C’s complaint through its corporate complaints process rather than the statutory children’s complaints process. This means Miss C has been put to unnecessary time and trouble by going through the wrong complaints process with the Council.
23. I welcome that the Council has now offered to arrange a stage two investigation. If Miss C remains unhappy at the conclusion of the statutory children’s complaints process, she can complain again to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the Council’s final response.
24. I also make further recommendations to reflect Miss C’s time and trouble and a service improvement to ensure the Council is aware of the circumstances when the statutory complaints process should be used for children’s social care services complaints.

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Agreed action

25. To remedy the injustice caused by fault, by 19 July 2021 the Council has agreed to:

• Apologise to Miss C.
• Pay Miss C £100 to acknowledge the unnecessary time and trouble it caused by failing to consider her complaint under the statutory children’s complaint process.
• Start a stage two investigation into the complaints raised by Miss C.
• Using this case as an example, ensure staff dealing with complaints are aware of the circumstances when the statutory complaints process should be used for children’s social care services complaints.

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Final decision

26. I have found fault by the Council, causing an injustice to Miss C. The Council has agreed to my recommendations and so I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman