Summary: Mr X complains about two section 17 family assessments. He says the report aren’t accurate and are misleading. Mr X made a complaint to the Council. The Council refused to escalate his complaint to stage 2 of the statutory children’s complaint procedure. We find fault with the Council for failing to follow the statutory children’s complaint procedure properly. The Council has agreed to escalate Mr X’s complaint to stage 2 of the procedure.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about two section 17 family assessments, completed by two social workers, for his son and daughter. Mr X says these assessments were inaccurate and misleading. He also says one of the social workers did not take notes during meetings. Mr X says he has audio evidence to support his complaint. Mr X also complains about the Council’s complaint handling as the Council refused to escalate his complaint to stage two. The Council said this was because Mr X would not clarify his complaints.

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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. 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)
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 report with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Mr X’s complaint and the information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I sent a draft decision to Mr X and the Council for their comments.

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What I found

7. Section 26(3) of the Children Act 1989 says councils should establish a procedure for considering complaints by, and on behalf, of children and young people who are looked after by the local authority or are children in need.
8. Councils must follow the statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints: Social Care Complaints and Representations for Children, Young People and Others. The guidance says councils must consider complaints made by any child or young person (or a parent of his or someone who has parental responsibility for him) who is being looked after by the local authority or is not looked after by them but is in need.
9. The guidance says complains made by or on behalf of children about council services must follow the three stage statutory complaints procedure: local resolution, investigation and review panel.

• Stage 1 – local resolution; where a council investigates and responds to the complaint
• Stage 2 – Investigation; the council must appoint an investigating officer to lead the investigation and an independent person to oversee this.
• Stage 3 – Review Panel; the council must appoint three independent people to sit on a panel to consider the stage 2 investigation and outcomes

10. The guidance notes stage 2 starts when the complainant requests it. The guidance also highlights if the complaint has been submitted orally, the complaints manager must ensure the details of the complaint and the complainant’s desired outcome are recorded in writing. The Complaints Manager may wish to do this with the Investigating Officer and Independent Person appointed to conduct stage 2.
11. The guidance sets out what is exempt from the complaint procedure. It notes the procedure does not apply when:

• the person wishing to complain does not meet the requirements of “who may complain” and is not acting on behalf of such an individual;
• the complaint is not in regard of the actions or decision of the local authority complained to, or of any body acting on its behalf; or
• the same complaint has already been dealt with at all stages of the procedure.

12. Councils can only vary from the statutory complaint procedure in exceptional circumstances.

What happened

13. In January 2019, Mr X complained to the Council about two family assessment reports (section 17) completed for his children. Mr X said there were factual errors in the report and that he had audio recordings to support his complaint.
14. In February 2019, the Council provided its stage one response. The Council accepted some errors had been made on Mr X’s son’s report and amended the errors. The Council also explained it would not view or listen to any recordings Mr X had.
15. In March 2019, Mr X wrote to the Council to ask for his complaint to be escalated. He provided the Council with a written summary of his complaints and his desired outcomes. The Council asked Mr X to provide the evidence mentioned in his complaint.
16. Mr X also wrote to the Council to make a new complaint. This complaint was about access to the Council’s complaints process. Mr X said the Council had not allowed him to make a complaint by telephone. Mr X said his disability meant it was very difficult for him to write and he had no regular access to a computer.
17. In April 2019, the Council provided a stage 1 response to Mr X’s new complaint. In this response, the Council told Mr X his complaint about the family assessment was not clear and that before it could take further action, he needed to clarify his complaints, in writing.
18. Mr X asked the Council which points needed clarification. He explained he had not received any guidance on how to make a complaint. Mr X said the Council should have raised these concerns earlier. Mr X provided the Council with evidence to support his complaint the Council would not allow him to make complaints by telephone.
19. After reviewing the evidence provided by Mr X, the Council provided a further response to Mr X’s second complaint. The Council said it would make a reasonable adjustment to allow Mr X to provide the information it needed to progress his complaint. The Council said Mr X could provide specific information or evidence, and his outcomes, in the form of an audio or transcribed recording.
20. Mr X said he felt his complaint had been clearly set out in his emails. Mr X rejected the Council’s offer for him to provide extra information through an audio or transcribed recording. Mr X said the request was unreasonable and asked the Council again to escalate his complaint.
21. At the end of April 2019, the Council sent Mr X a document which listed Mr X’s complaints. The document asked Mr X to provide evidence to support his complaint and the outcome sought for each individual complaint. This document contained information which was copied and pasted from Mr X’s previous emails. Mr X responded to this and refused to provide the information the Council requested as he said it would only be a repeat of what he has already provided.
22. In May 2019, the Council wrote to Mr X to explain it could not escalate his complaint because of a lack of clarity. The Council said it was not clear what Mr X’s complaints were, what evidence he had to support his complaints, and what outcomes he was looking for. The Council said because Mr X declined to provide further information, it could not assess whether his complaints had been investigated at stage 1, or if the complaint was within the 12 month timeframe for making a complaint.

Analysis

23. The guidance says councils must consider complaints made by any child or young person (or a parent of his or someone who has parental responsibility for him) who is in need. Therefore, it is clear Mr X’s complaint can be investigated under the statutory complaint procedure as he complains about two section 17 family assessments, and because Mr X has parental responsibility.
24. The Council refused to escalate Mr X’s complaint because it says it is unclear what Mr X’s complaints and desired outcomes are. It says it therefore cannot assess whether it has responded to his complaints or whether the complaints made are within the 12 month timescales.
25. The guidance sets out councils must ensure it records the details of the complaint and the complainant’s desired outcomes in writing. The evidence shows Mr X did provide his stage 2 complaint in writing.
26. It is my view Mr X has clearly set out the reasons why he was dissatisfied with the Council’s stage 1 response. Mr X has also clearly set out his exact complaints with the content of the two reports, in the order as they appear within the report. Therefore, the Council did have the information available to assess whether it had responded to the complaint and whether the complaint was within the timescales.
27. Further, it is the role of the investigating officer, alongside the independent person, to confirm the complaint and to set out the scope of the investigation. If the stage 2 investigator needed clarification of the complaint, they would be able to speak with Mr X about it. The Council did not need to clarify the complaint before progressing the complaint to stage 2.
28. In any case, the guidance sets out that stage 2 starts when the complainant requests it. Mr X had clearly requested the Council escalate his complaint in March 2019. Therefore, the Council should have escalated the complaint when Mr X requested it. This is fault.
29. I find the fault identified caused Mr X an injustice. This is because he was unable to access the statutory complaints procedure which caused him stress and frustration.

Agreed action

30. To remedy the injustice set out above, the Council has agreed to complete the following.

• Provide a written apology to Mr X.
• Progress Mr X’s complaint to stage 2 of the statutory children’s complaint procedure.

31. The Council should complete the above remedy within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

32. I find fault with the Council for failing to follow the statutory children’s complaint procedure properly. The Council has accepted my recommendation. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman