Summary: The Council has agreed to consider Mr X’s complaint at stage three and respond to him directly. Mr X can approach the Ombudsman again if he is not happy with the Council’s final response. The Ombudsman has decided to discontinue the investigation into Mr X’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council ignored his daughter’s needs, fabricated information to increase the perception of risk and presented false information to court.
2. He says this has caused financial hardship, depression and anxiety and for his marriage to breakdown. Mr X would like the Council to held accountable.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of the investigation, I have considered information from Mr X and the Council.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

What happened

7. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
8. Mr X complained to the Council. There were several parts to his complaint which included the Council ignoring his daughter’s needs, fabricating information, and presenting false information to court.
9. The Council issued a stage one response in June 2023. The letter said the Council would deal with the complaint under its Children’s Social Care Customer Feedback Procedure. This is a three-stage process. If Mr X wanted to continue his complaint further, the letter said to contact the Customer Resolution Team.
10. Mr X contacted the Customer Resolution Team and asked for a stage two investigation. The Council started the investigation in September and completed it in November. The response was sent to Mr X in December.
11. Mr X told the Council there was evidence which it had not considered during the stage two investigation. The investigating team agreed to consider the evidence and completed a follow-up report in April 2024. The Council sent an addendum response to Mr X at the beginning of May. The letter said if Mr X wished to continue the complaint further, he was to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman).
12. In June 2024, as directed by the Council, Mr X complained to the Ombudsman.
13. In conversation with me at the beginning of November, Mr X said the Council told him the next stage of the complaint process was to complain to the Ombudsman. He said the Council did not offer him a stage three investigation.
14. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it did not offer Mr X a stage three investigation and explained it signposted him to the Ombudsman instead. It explained it should have offered a stage three investigation and offered to do this now, in line with its complaint’s process.
15. This is a satisfactory course of action; I will discontinue my investigation. If Mr X remains dissatisfied after receiving the Council’s final response on his complaint, he can approach the Ombudsman again.

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Final decision

16. I have discontinued my investigation. The Council has agreed to consider Mr X’s complaint at stage three and no further action by the Ombudsman is needed.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman