Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a child in care. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early and reconsider Mr X’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaints process.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council is not doing enough to support his child, who is in foster care. Mr X said the Council’s actions caused him unnecessary stress and had an adverse impact on his family life.

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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 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).
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about how it was providing for his child, who is under the Council’s care according to s.20 of the Children Act 1989. The Council considered Mr X’s complaint under stages one and two of its corporate complaint procedure.
7. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services (the children’s statutory complaints process).
8. If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because Mr X complained to the Council about matters falling under the purview of the children’s statutory complaints process.
9. The Council has agreed to reconsider Mr X’s complaint, this time starting at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints process. It should aim to complete this within 65 working days of the date of my final decision.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to a suitable remedy in reconsidering Mr X’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaints process. There are no wider public interest issues to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman