Summary: We found fault with the Council for the delay in completing stage two of the statutory children’s complaint procedure. This fault caused Mr X injustice. The Council agreed to apologise, complete stage two of the complaint procedure, make a symbolic payment and consider service improvements to ensure it meets the statutory children’s complaints timescales.

The complaint

1. Mr Y, acting for his son Mr X, says the Council failed to comply with the timescales for responding to Mr X’s complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaint process. This, he says, delayed resolution of the matter and caused uncertainty and frustration.

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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 an organisation’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 spoke with Mr Y and considered the information he provided.
6. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
7. Mr Y and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative framework

8. 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.
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.

What happened

10. Mr Y’s original complaint to the Council, raised on behalf of his son, was about the care provided to his grandson (B). Mr Y was not happy with the Council’s stage one response and at the end of September 2021 asked the Council to escalate it to stage two.
11. After the Council refused to carry out stage two of the complaint process without giving its reasons, Mr Y complained to us. In our decision issued in the third week of August 2022 we recommended for the Council to apologise and within a week start an independent stage two investigation.
12. The Council referred Mr X’s complaint to stage two of the statutory children’s complaint process. In the second week of September the first meeting took place.
13. In April 2023 Mr Y complained to us about the lack of progress with his complaint. He said he still did not receive the Council’s response which should have been issued within 65 days.
14. During a telephone conversation Mr Y said the independent investigator completed her investigation and drafted a report many weeks ago but the Council failed to engage and complete stage two of the complaint process.
15. In response to my enquiries the Council apologised for the delays and confirmed its stage two adjudication response would be provided to Mr Y as a matter of urgency. The Council suggested the response would include an offer of a payment for Mr X to recognise extra time and trouble taken to reach a resolution of his complaint.

Analysis

16. The Council had 13 weeks to complete its stage two investigation which should have started by the end of August 2022. This part of the process should have, therefore, been completed by the end of November 2022.
17. The Council admitted it failed to provide its adjudication response, which means a delay of over six months. This is fault, which caused Mr X and the whole family injustice by the lack of resolution and uncertainty.

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Agreed action

18. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, we recommend the Council within a week of my final decision complete the following:
• Send a written apology to Mr Y in line with our recently reviewed Guidance on remedies;
• Complete a stage two investigation of Mr X’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure;
• Pay Mr X £300 to acknowledge the unnecessary frustration and uncertainty, caused by the delays within the process.
19. We also recommend the Council within three months of the final decision review its processes for investigating complaints under the children’s statutory complaints procedure to consider whether any service improvements are required to ensure it completes investigations within the statutory timescales. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

20. I uphold this complaint. The Council failed to meet the timescales for completing stage two of the statutory children’s complaint procedure by which it caused injustice to Mr X. The Council has accepted my recommendations, so this investigation is at an end.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman