Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s support to Mrs X in relation to a child. The Council has agreed to take steps to remedy any injustice to Mrs X and there are no wider public interest issues to justify investigating further.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that the Council had not supported her to achieve permanence for her grandchild. Mrs X also says that the Council has not provided her with suitable financial support whilst she has been caring for her grandchild.
2. Mrs X says that this has caused her distress and financial hardship.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I considered the Children Act 1989 representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X complained about the level of support the Council provide to her, relating to a child who’s care she was involved with.
8. If we investigated this complaint it is likely we would find the Council at fault because it has not used the statutory three-stage children’s complaints procedure to respond to Mrs X’s complaint.
9. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by:

• appointing an investigating officer and independent person to carry out a stage two complaint investigation. The council should complete the investigation within 65 working days.
• offering an apology to Mrs X for her frustration and distress caused by the delay in considering her complaint under the statutory complaint regulations for children.

10. To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will contact Mrs X within two weeks of my final decision to begin the stage two complaint investigation and provide her with an apology.
11. It is then open to Mrs X to complaint to us again, if she remains unhappy at the conclusion of the three-stage procedure.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to carry out a stage two complaint investigation and apologise to Mrs X for its delay in doing so. There are no wider public interest issues to justify investigating this complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman