Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council failed to respond to her stage two complaint under the children statutory complaints procedure within the required timescales. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to respond to her stage two complaint under the children statutory complaints procedure within the required timescales.

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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 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

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. We issued a final decision in November 2024 which recommended the Council start stage two of the children statutory complaints procedure without further delay and for the investigation to be completed within 65 working days.
6. This means the Council should have concluded its stage two investigation by mid-February 2025. To date, the Council has yet to conclude its investigation.
7. We therefore asked the Council to remedy this by completing the following:
• Apologise to Mrs X for the delay in completing the stage two investigation.
• Issue the stage two investigator report, independent person report, and the Council’s adjudication response within two weeks of the final decision.
• Within four weeks, make a payment of £100 to recognise the nearly two month delay in completing the stage two investigation.

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Agreed action

8. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within the agreed timescales.

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Final decision

9. We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman