Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to decline to consider a complaint about the welfare of a child in its care. There is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council has declined to consider her complaint about matters relating to the welfare of a child in the Council’s care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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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. Mrs X was a Council foster carer. Her complaint relates to a child who she says was in her care for almost two years until the placement ended in 2024. She says she was not in favour of the move the Council proposed and expressed concerns about the suitability of the new placement, and about the Council’s decision not to consider reuniting the child with her siblings.
6. The new placement went ahead, despite Mrs X’s concerns. She subsequently made a complaint to the Council about what she regards as poor care planning and decision making. The Council has declined to address the matter as a complaint because the child is not in her care and she does not hold parental responsibility for her.
7. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s position. She says she is frustrated that she has not been listened to and that her skills and experience have been undervalued by the Council.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The Council’s decision not to accept a complaint from her about matters which primarily affect the child does not amount to fault, as she is not in a position to be treated as the child’s representative. The Council has offered to accept a complaint from Mrs X about its communication with her and about any service she receives from it. That is a reasonable response in the circumstances of the case. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council has responded to Mrs X’s complaint to warrant our intervention.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman