Summary: We have completed our investigation into how the Council arranged contact between Miss X and her looked-after child. This is because we find no fault. We will not investigate whether the Council gave Miss X documents it agreed to years before. This is because it is too late.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to arrange contact with her looked-after child, and failed to provide certain documents which it said it would provide years earlier. Miss X said this caused unnecessary distress and stress.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. As I have said above, we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. In this case, Miss X complained to us in July 2025 that the Council failed to provide certain documents which it said it would provide by July 2022.
7. I have considered Miss X’s reasons for not bringing that part of her complaint to us earlier. I consider Miss X had reasonable opportunities to complain to us earlier. I do not find good reasons for us to exercise our discretion and look back that far. For this reason, I have not investigated this part of the complaint.
8. I have investigated the part of Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to arrange contact with her looked-after child.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered the information and documents provided by Miss X and the Council. I spoke to Miss X about her complaint. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below.
10. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments and further information received before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

11. The law says councils must allow the child or children who are the subject of the care order reasonable contact with their parents.
12. If a parent is unhappy with the level of contact the council allows, they can try to resolve the situation by talking to the child’s or children’s social worker. If they cannot resolve the situation in this way, they can apply to the court for an order for contact with a child in care.

What happened

13. Miss X’s child, O, is a looked-after child and lives with foster carers. Miss X has contact with O.
14. Miss X met with two social workers in August 2024 to discuss contact with O that month. The meeting finished early with no conclusion. Miss X complained.
15. The Council said Miss X left before the meeting finished.

Analysis

16. Miss X complained the Council failed to arrange contact with her child (O) in August. She said the two social workers left the meeting early, saying they both had emergencies to go to. Miss X said her adult daughter went with her to that meeting. She also said she had a recording of the meeting.
17. The social workers told the Ombudsman they told Miss X in that meeting that O did not want contact during school holidays, so she would not see O that month. They said Miss X became upset and left the meeting. They said Miss X’s daughter did not attend that meeting.
18. Miss X has not been able to provide me with a copy of her recording of that meeting.
19. On balance, I am persuaded that the social workers told Miss X during that meeting that O did not want contact that month. I am also persuaded that Miss X left the meeting early. I do not agree that the Council failed to arrange contact with O that month: O did not want contact that month so there would have been no contact that month even if the meeting had not finished early.
20. For this reason, I find no fault with the Council.

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Decision

21. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman