Summary: We upheld this complaint, and the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by taking the complaint through the children’s statutory complaints procedure and by apologising to Mr X. We did not investigate Mr X’s substantive complaints about support he received as a looked after child or as a care leaver because the Council agreed to progress the complaint through the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the support provided to him by the Council when he was a looked after child, about his transition plan, and about the support the Council provided when he became a care leaver.
2. Mr X says the matters caused him distress and uncertainty.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).
4. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. If we investigated this complaint, we would likely find fault because:
• Mr X complained to the Council about the support provided to him when he was a looked after child, about the transition plan when he moved from being a looked after child to being a care leaver, and about support he received as a care leaver. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaints through its corporate complaints procedure.
• In response to our enquiries the Council agreed Mr X’s complaint should have been considered through the children’s statutory complaints process. This is because the matters complained about related to Mr X when he was a looked after child, his transition plan, and the support he received as a care leaver.
8. The statutory children’s complaints procedure was set up to provide children, young people, and those involved in their welfare with access to an independent, thorough, and prompt response to their concerns. Because of this, we expect people to complete the complaints procedure before we will consider whether there were any flaws in how the Council investigated their concerns. I have therefore not investigated Ms X’s substantive complaint because the Council agreed to process the complaints through the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

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Agreed action

9. The Council agreed to:
• start and complete stage two of the children’s statutory complaints process within 65 working days of this final decision; and
• write to Mr X and apologise for the frustration and time and trouble it caused when it failed to consider his complaints at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints process. The Council agreed to complete this action within one month of the Ombudsman’s final decision.

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Final decision

10. We upheld Mr X’s complaint, and the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman