Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council delayed considering a complaint about the actions of its children’s service under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. This is because the Council has provided an appropriate remedy for the delays so further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complained to the Council about the actions of its children’s services in relation to a child protection investigation. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman that there had been significant delays in receiving a response at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

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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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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.

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My assessment

5. The Council considered Mrs X’s complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure, issuing a stage one response in late August 2019. Dissatisfied, Mrs X asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage two, which involves the Council appointing an investigator and an independent person who are responsible for overseeing the investigation. The Council had up to 13 weeks to complete its stage two of the process from the date of request.
6. The Council issued a stage two response in May 2022, but it concluded that the investigation was inadequate. It therefore arranged for a new investigator to consider the complaint at stage two again.
7. The Council acknowledged that there had been a delay considering Mrs X’s complaint. It apologised to Mrs X and offered to make a payment of her of £400 to remedy the time and trouble she had been to and to reflect the delay in providing a response. It has also advised Mrs X on how it plans to proceed with its new stage two investigation.
8. Having carefully considered the Council’s actions, I am satisfied that it has provided a remedy that is appropriate and proportionate. For this reason, I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint further. This is because I do not consider that further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman