Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to respond to her concerns about the care of her two children, who were in foster care. We found the Council at fault for failing to tell Miss X she could return to the complaints process after concurrent investigations were complete. We recommended the Council provide an apology and payment to Miss X and act to prevent recurrence.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to respond to her concerns about the care of her two children, in foster care. She is unhappy about the Council’s communication with her and its refusal to look at her complaint. Miss X says her children suffered emotional damage from the care they received and wants compensation for them. Also, she has concerns about the foster carer looking after other children.

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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’. 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)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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.
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council. I discussed the complaint with Miss X.
7. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Allegations against people who work with children

8. Government guidance says councils should designate a particular officer, or team of officers, “to be involved in the management and oversight of allegations against people who work with children.” (Working together to safeguard children, Department for Education 2018, Chapter 2, paragraphs 5 & 6). The officer is known as the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

Children’s statutory complaints process

9. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
10. Councils have discretion in deciding whether to consider complaints, where to do so would compromise a concurrent investigation under another statutory or internal procedure.
11. If the Council decides not to begin the complaints process, it must write to the complainant explaining the reasons for its decision and naming the relevant concurrent investigation.
12. The Council should tell the complainant of their right to resubmit their complaint once the concurrent investigation has ended, and that it must be resubmitted within one year of the end date of the concurrent investigation.
13. The Council should also keep the complainant up to date with progress on the concurrent investigation.

What happened

14. Miss X has four children. Her two youngest children were placed into the care of the local authority with a foster carer.
15. In December 2020 Miss X raised concerns about the care of her children in the foster care placement. The Council said it investigated these concerns as part of ongoing family court proceedings.
16. In June 2021, after the children returned to her care, Miss X complained to the Council about the care her children received during the foster placement and about the conduct of the foster carer.
17. In response the Council explained it would report Miss X’s concerns to its Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The LADO is responsible for co-ordinating the response to concerns that an adult that works with children may have caused, or could cause, them harm.
18. The Council explained to Miss X it would not progress her complaint as her concerns would be looked at by the LADO, but it gave no timescale for the completion of the LADO process. The final hearing of her children’s case was also due in court in September. The Council felt it could potentially be prejudicial to take forward Miss X’s complaint at the same time.
19. Miss X was unhappy with the Council’s response and so contacted the Ombudsman.
20. When I spoke to Miss X, she told me the final court hearing took place in September and she had not heard from the Council in respect of the LADO investigation.
21. The Council confirmed it concluded the LADO process in July and it did not let Miss X know the outcome.
22. The Council offered to apologise to Miss X and pay her £150 to acknowledge the uncertainty caused.

Analysis

23. The Council used its discretion to not take forward Miss X’s complaint. This was an approach the Council was entitled to take under Getting the Best from Complaints and my view is there is no fault in how it made this decision. However, the Council is at fault for failing to tell Miss X she could return to the complaints process once court proceedings and the LADO process were complete. This failure to inform Miss X, could have resulted in her missing the opportunity to have her complaint considered.
24. The Council is also at fault for failing to keep Miss X updated about the progress of the LADO process. This failure to keep Miss X updated caused uncertainty.
25. If Miss X resubmits her complaint and remains unhappy at the end of the statutory children’s complaints process, she can complain again to the Ombudsman.

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Agreed actions

26. To remedy the injustice as set out above, I recommended the Council take the following action within one month of the date of my final decision.
• Apologise to Miss X, including a promise to deal with her complaint promptly now the LADO process is complete.
• Pay Miss X £150 as a symbolic payment to reflect the uncertainty.
• Remind relevant staff of the need to inform complainants of their right to resubmit their complaint after concurrent investigations have ended.
27. The Council has accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

28. I have found fault by the Council. This fault caused Miss X injustice and the Council has agreed to my recommendations therefore I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman