Summary: the Council is considering Mr and Mrs P’s complaint under procedures that ensure independent scrutiny of its actions and G’s voice is heard. However, the process has taken longer than it should and is not yet complete. I have discontinued my investigation to allow the Council to complete the complaints process. I ask the Council to take account of the delay in its response. If Mr and Mrs P remain dissatisfied once the Council has completed the complaints process, they can complain to the Ombudsman again.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs P are long-term carers for G. They complain about their dealings with the Council in connection with G’s transition to adulthood. They complain the Council has not listened to G’s wishes. They complain about arrangements for G’s care (‘staying put’), her welfare and finances (deputyship). They complain about the Council’s liaison with the Council where they live. They complain the Council does not respond to their emails, and G has lost trust in the Council.
2. G has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan maintained by the Council. Mr and Mrs P complain that G is out of education and has missed a term of college because the Council has not made arrangements for her transport.
3. The Council began the children’s complaints process in December 2020. Unhappy with the Council’s handling of their complaint, Mr and Mrs P contacted the Ombudsman in July 2021.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered:
• information provided by Mr and Mrs P; and
• information provided by the Council.
6. I invited Mr and Mrs P and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

Back to top

What I found

The Council’s response to Mrs P’s complaint

7. The Council is considering Mrs P’s complaint under the Children Act complaints process. This is a formal procedure, set out in law, which councils must follow to investigate certain types of complaint. It involves:
• a written response from the Council (Stage 1);
• the appointment of an independent investigator to prepare a report (Stage 2); and, if the person making the complaint requests
• an independent panel to consider their representations (Stage 3).
8. Regulations set out the timescales for the process. The Council should provide a response at Stage 1 within 10 working days, at Stage 2 within 25 working days (or exceptionally within 65 working days) and convene a review panel at Stage 3 within 30 working days.
9. The Council told me the independent investigator had completed an investigation at Stage 2 and the Council was considering the investigator’s findings and recommendations.

Consideration

10. Mr and Mrs P’s complaint concerns important questions about G’s future. It is understandable they should be anxious for their complaint to be resolved as quickly as possible. I am very concerned to hear that G is not attending college.
11. The Council is considering their complaint under procedures set out in law to ensure independent scrutiny of its actions and G’s voice is heard. This is good.
12. However, the process has taken longer than it should have done and it is not yet complete. While it is important to consider the complaint properly, time is of the essence, particularly in the life of a young person.
13. I ask the Council to do everything possible to respond to Mr and Mrs P’s complaint as quickly as possible, and to complete the remaining stages of the complaints process within the statutory timescales.
14. Further, I ask the Council to consider the impact of any delays in the complaints process when adjudicating on the complaint and, if appropriate, to offer a remedy.
15. Finally, I ask the Council to consider its powers and duties to respond to Mr and Mrs P’s concerns – and particularly G’s absence from college – without waiting for the complaints process to complete. If there is action the Council could or should take to support G, it should do so straight away and not wait for the outcome of the complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

16. I have discontinued my investigation to allow the Council to complete the complaints process. If Mr and Mrs P remain dissatisfied once the Council has completed all three stages of the complaints process, they can complain to the Ombudsman again.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman