Summary: We will uphold Mr X’s complaint, as the Council delayed considering a complaint within the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to complete its stage three review panel without further delay. It will offer to make Mr X a payment to remedy the time and trouble its delay caused him.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I will call Mr X, complains about the actions of the Council’s children services team. Mr X asked the Council to escalate his complaint to stage three of the Children Act statutory complaints procedure but it has not done so.

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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. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share the final 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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I considered Mr X’s comments on a draft version of this decision.

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My assessment

The statutory complains 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 accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
8. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
9. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigator and an independent person who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. Councils have up to 13 weeks to complete stage two of the process from the date of request.
10. 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 days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 days of the panel hearing.

What happened

11. Mr X complained to the Council at the end of August 2020 about the actions of the children services team. The Council considered the complaint under stage one of the statutory complaints procedure and issued its response in September 2020.
12. Two days later, Mr X asked the Council in writing to progress the complaint to stage two of the process. The Council should have completed this stage no later than 13 weeks. The Council completed it at the end of April 2021, a delay of 15 weeks.
13. The Council said the delay completing the stage two investigation is due to:
• a delay of three weeks in clarifying the complaint with Mr X and
• ill health of the Investigating Officer.
14. Mr X requested a stage three review panel hearing at the beginning of May 2021. That should have been convened by mid June 2021. It was not.

Analysis

15. The Council’s delays are fault. Mr X has not received answers to the questions he raised and has been denied the opportunity for an independent review panel at stage three of the statutory complaints’ procedure. He has also been caused frustration by the delay.

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Agreed action

16. By the end of August 2021, the Council has agreed to:
• Complete its stage three review panel and write to Mr X to inform him of the outcome.
• Pay Mr X £100 to remedy the time and trouble he has gone to pursuing the complaint and to reflect the 15 week delay in the Council dealing with his complaint.

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Final decision

17. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman