Summary: Mr X complained the Council refused to consider his complaint under stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The Council was at fault. It should have completed a stage two investigation when Mr X requested it. The Council has agreed to complete the stage two investigation, pay Mr X £200 in recognition of the frustration and uncertainty caused by delay and poor communication and remind relevant staff of its duties under the statutory procedure.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refused to consider his complaint under stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. He says there has been delay, his complaint is unresolved, and the matter has caused him frustration and distress. He wants the Council to consider his complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure and review its practices.

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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 decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke with him about it on the phone.
6. I made enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent me.
7. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Statutory Children’s Complaints Procedure

8. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. It also sets time scales for Council’s to complete each stage of the process.
• Stage 1 – local resolution. A council should provide a response within 10 working days;

If the complaint is not resolved or there is an agreement for investigation, the complaint is escalated to Stage 2.

• Stage 2 – Investigation. A council should investigate the complaint and produce a report within 25 working days, or if more time is needed, this can be extended to up to 65 days.

If not resolved, the complaint should progress to stage 3.

• Stage 3 – Review Panel. A panel of independent people should consider the complaint and produce recommendations.
3. A complainant can approach the Ombudsman at any stage, but if a complaint can be considered under the procedure, we normally consider it premature to us unless it has been through all three stages.
4. Statutory guidance says:

“Where a complaint is accepted at Stage 1, the complainant is entitled to pursue their complaint further through the procedure except in the case of cross boundary issues. In all other instances, once a complaint has entered Stage1, the local authority is obliged to ensure that the complaint proceeds to Stage 2 and 3 of the procedure, if that is the complainant’s wish.”

What happened

11. Mr X has two children, Y and Z. He does not live with his children. Y and Z live with their mother in the Council area.
12. In 2019, Mr X complained to the Council. He complained about several issues including poor communication and that the Council had failed to provide him with records of meetings. The Council accepted his complaint under stage 1 of the statutory children’s complaints procedure.
13. The Council provided its Stage 1 response. It upheld part of his complaint and apologised for some episodes of poor communication. Mr X was dissatisfied with the complaint response and asked the Council to escalate his complaint to stage 2 for an independent investigation. He told the Council he was dissatisfied for several reasons including:
• The stage 1 investigation was superficial and highlighted ongoing issues with poor communication
• The investigation showed the social worker was “censoring” what they communicated to him, which they should not have done
• It was untrue that management were not aware of his concerns before he raised the complaint, as he had previously raised concerns with senior managers on several occasions
• The Council had not sent him minutes of meetings.
14. The Council accepted his escalation request.
15. In October 2019, Mr X contacted the Council for an update. It told him it had appointed an investigation officer and independent person to oversee the investigation. It said they would contact him to agree the statement of complaint for the independent investigation.
16. In November 2019, Mr X met with the investigating officer and the independent person to discuss his statement of complaint.
17. The Council told us that in January 2020, the independent investigator said Mr X wanted the complaint statement to include additional points relating to his children. His children did not consent to this. I have seen no evidence the Council updated Mr X with its concerns about the complaint statement or contacted him to discuss the matter at this time.
18. In March 2020, Mr X contacted the Council requesting an update on his complaint. It replied saying it would contact him soon with more information.
19. In April Mr X chased up his complaint again. The Council responded saying it had suspended non-urgent complaint investigations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It apologised it had not let him know sooner.
20. In May, the Council wrote to Mr X again. It said it would not investigate his complaint at stage 2 of the statutory children’s complaints procedure as there was nothing to investigate. It said it had asked him to clarify what records he wanted the Council to send him, but he had not told the Council what he wanted. It said it could not provide him with some information relating to his children, as they had not provided their consent. It apologised again for the faults identified at Stage 1, and for not keeping him up to date on the progress of the Stage 2 investigation. It directed him to us if he remained dissatisfied.

Analysis

21. The children’s statutory complaints procedure is designed to ensure complaints about children’s services are considered quickly and effectively. The guidance is clear that once a council accepts a complaint under the procedure, the complainant is entitled to pursue the complaint through stages 2 and 3, if that is their wish.
22. The Council accepted Mr X’s complaint under stage 1 of the procedure and provided a stage 1 response. Mr X told the Council he wanted to escalate to Stage 2 and provided his reasons. The Council initially accepted his request. Although the Council had concerns about data protection in relation to his children, Mr X had expressed multiple concerns which could have formed the basis of a stage 2 investigation. In line with the statutory procedure, the Council should have investigated his complaint and provided a stage 2 response within 65 days.
23. The Council’s refusal to investigate Mr X’s complaint at stage 2 is fault. Mr X’s complaint remains unresolved, over a year after he asked the Council to escalate his complaint. The fault has caused Mr X avoidable uncertainty, frustration, and distress.
24. The Council did not keep him informed about the progress of his complaint between January and April 2020. This is fault. This poor communication and delay have added to Mr X’s frustration and uncertainty.

Agreed action

25. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will:
• Begin a stage 2 investigation into Mr X’s complaint. It should agree a complaint statement with him within the month and provide him with a timescale for a stage 2 response.
• Pay Mr X £200 in recognition of the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delays and poor communication.
• Remind relevant staff of the children’s statutory complaints process and the complainant’s right to pursue a complaint through all three stages of the process, should they wish to do so.

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Final decision

26. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault and the Council has agreed actions to remedy the injustice caused and improve its services.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman