Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to support the complainants family. This is because it is unlikely, we could add to the investigation already carried out by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Ms X, complains that the Council has failed to provide appropriate support to her and her family and has unnecessarily continued with a Child in Need plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation,

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant now has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. In 2019, Ms X moved to the Council’s area with her daughter and son. She contacted the Council and asked it to provide a package of care for her son. The children subsequently became subject to a Child in Need plan. Ms X complains about the support that the Council is providing the family in relation to her son’s care needs, transport and housing. She also complains that the Council unnecessarily continued with the Child in Need plan.
7. Ms X’s complaint was considered under the three stage statutory complaints procedure for children’s complaints. At stage two of the process an Independent Officer and Independent Person were appointed, and Ms X agreed that 6 individual complaint elements would be investigated. Relevant information was reviewed and interviews carried out with those involved with the family and with Ms X. The subsequent investigation did not uphold any of Ms X’s complaint.
8. At stage three of the process, each of the complaint elements were considered by an independent panel. Records from the meeting show that Ms X was able to speak at the hearing and that the panel were able to ask questions about the complaint. The panel concluded that no part of Ms X’s complaint should be upheld.
9. As the complaint has completed the statutory complaint procedure, the question for the Ombudsman is whether it is likely that investigation by us would add anything significant, or lead to a different outcome. Ms X may disagree with the outcome of the complaint process, but that does not mean there is fault in the way the matter was considered.
10. The documents I have seen show that the complaint was subject to considerable scrutiny throughout the process, and that Ms X was able to participate fully. The findings are comprehensive and defensible and there is no indication of fault in the way they were made. For these reasons we cannot add anything further to the Council’s investigation and will not investigate Ms X’s complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the investigation already carried out by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman