Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed considering a complaint at stage three of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint by arranging a stage three panel without further delay. It will also apologise to the complainant for not doing so sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council has failed to progress his complaint to stage three of the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

Back to top

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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution, the second stage involves an independent investigation with oversight from an independent person.
7. 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. When arranging a panel, Council’s should have due regard to the complainant’s availability and convenience. The complainant should be notified of the Panel’s date and location in writing at least 10 working days before the Review Panel meets and be invited to attend.
8. The Council issued its stage two response to Mr X in August, and in early September he escalated his complaint to stage 3. A panel meeting was arranged to be held in October but did not go ahead. The Council asked if it could refer the complaint to the Ombudsman early.
9. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely that we would find the Council at fault. The criteria for early referral to the Ombudsman has not yet been met. The stage 3 hearing should have taken place within 30 working days of Mr X’s request.
10. We therefore asked the Council to apologise to Mr X for its delay and arrange the stage three panel within one month of the date of our final decision. To its credit, the Council has agreed with our recommendation in order to resolve the complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing an appropriate remedy.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman