Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about children services’ actions. It is unlikely we would find fault or significantly add to the Council’s Children Act statutory complaint response.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council’s children services team failed to support him as a former looked after child when he requested a move to another part of the country. He says this has caused him upset and cost him financially.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:
• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the complaint replies supplied by the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X became a looked after child (LAC) in 2017. In 2021 he turned 18. The Council held a pathway plan for him. In December 2024 he decided that he wanted to move to another part of the country. He asked the Council for support including to cover the costs of doing so. He says it failed to meet its duties towards him as a former LAC with a pathway plan and he says its communication with him was poor. He complained to the Council with the assistance of an advocate in March 2025.
7. The Council considered his complaint within its Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure. That finished in December 2025 and Mr X complained to us.
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. We also published practitioner guidance on the procedures, setting out our expectations.
9. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond. Here the Council took over 40 working days. The Council apologised for this at stage two. It is not a significant enough delay to justify any further remedy.
10. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can request a stage two investigation This involves an investigating officer (IO) looking into the complaint and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation and ensuring its independence.
11. Following the investigation, a senior manager (the adjudicating officer) at the council should carry out an adjudication. The officer considers the IO report and any report from the IP. They decide what the council’s response to the complaint will be, including what action it will take. The adjudicating officer should then write to the complainant with a copy of the investigation report, any report from the independent person and the adjudication response.
12. The whole stage two process should be completed within 25 working days but guidance allows an extension for up to 65 working days where required. Here it took 75 working days. But as the stage three was completed well within the timescales a remedy for this delay is not justifiable.
13. 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. The council must hold the panel within 30 working days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 working days of the panel hearing. Here this happened well within both targets.
14. 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, if a council has investigated something under the statutory children’s complaint process, the Ombudsman would not normally re-investigate it.
15. However, we may look at whether there were any flaws in the stage two investigation or stage three review panel that could call the findings into question. We may also consider whether a council properly considered the findings and recommendations of the independent investigation and review panel, and whether it has completed any recommendations without delay.
16. In Mr X’s case we have seen all the complaint procedure documents. It is unlikely we would find fault in the complaint process used here including the stage two thoroughness. Mr X does not agree with the outcome. But on the information we have, it is one the Council was entitled to make.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault or achieve a significantly different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman