Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (25 002 600)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint because the Council delayed considering his complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council has failed to provide therapeutic provision for his grandchild and not backdated special guardianship payments. He asked the Ombudsman to intervene after the Council failed to respond to his stage two complaint about these matters.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we were to investigate this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because there has been a delay in the Council considering the complaint and issuing Mr X with a stage two response. This has caused Mr X distress in the form of uncertainty and frustration.
- We therefore asked the Council to complete its investigation within one month, advising Mr X how he can escalate his complaint further. We also asked the Council to apologise to Mr X for the delay and to make a payment to him of £300 to remedy the injustice this caused. To its credit, the Council agreed.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing an appropriate remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman