Summary: Mrs D complains on behalf of Mr A about a Council not complying with the recommendations of a complaints review panel which has led to frustration for him. We will not investigate this complaint as the Council is complying with the recommendations.

The complaint

1. Mrs D has brought a complaint to the Ombudsman on behalf of Mr A. Mr A is unhappy with Suffolk County Council (the Council) in relation to its response to recommendations made by a Review Panel (the Panel) under the Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure. Specifically, the Council was supposed to draw up a new policy and share it with him. It shared an old policy with Mr A and has not yet drawn up the new policy.
2. This led to frustration for Mr A and he wants the Council to draw up a policy that meets his and other service users’ needs so that they are not put at risk again.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the bodies, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs D and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Background

6. The Council investigated Mr A’s complaint under the Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure. This involved a Stage 1 investigation by the Council, then Stage 2 which was an independent investigation, and then a Stage 3 Panel which assessed the Stage 2 investigation and made recommendations to the Council to resolve the complaint.
7. One of those recommendations was that the Council draw up a new section 117 of the Mental Health Act policy.
8. Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 imposes a duty on health and social services to meet the health/social care needs arising from or related to a person’s mental disorder for patients who have been detained under specific sections of the Mental Health Act (e.g. Section 3). Aftercare services provided in relation to the person’s mental disorder under S117 cannot be charged for. This is known as section 117 aftercare.
9. The Stage 3 Complaint Panel convened in October 2025 and the Council told the Panel it had drawn up a section 117 aftercare policy and it just needed to be signed off. The Panel noted that it had hoped that service users would have been consulted on the formulation of the policy, but in the interests of putting it in place as soon as possible it found that the Council’s actions had been acceptable.
10. The Panel also said that the Council should share the policy with Mr A as soon as possible.
11. Following the Panel, the Council sent what it said was the new policy to Mr A. As it turned out, this was an old policy that pre-dated the events of Mr A’s complaint.
12. Mr A was frustrated with this as he pointed out the error and that the Council misrepresented the situation to the Panel.
13. The Council admitted it made a mistake in sending the old policy. It also said that it was in the process of completing the new policy.
14. Mr A is unhappy with this as he wants the policy to be completed and be fit for purpose.
15. The Ombudsman’s approach to complaints considered under the Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure is slightly different to how it looks at other complaints.
16. Once a complaint has been through the full Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure, unless we identify fault in how the Council carried out the Stage Two investigation or Stage Three Panel, we will not reinvestigate the substantive matters of the complaint.
17. Where there are no significant failings in the Stage Two investigation or Stage Three Panel, our consideration of a complaint focuses on whether the Council properly considered the findings and recommendations in the Panel’s reports, and whether the Council has carried out those recommendations without delay.
18. In this case the Council has not yet completed the recommendations in relation to the section 117 policy. In addition, it sent Mr A the wrong policy which was frustrating for him.
19. However, the Council apologised for this mistake, and has told the Ombudsman it is formulating the section 117 policy and trying to meet with Mr A to discuss this.
20. In addition, the Panel recommended that the Council provide the policy as soon as possible, but did not specify a date. A policy such as this does take time to develop and needs to be signed off by different departments. We do not think there has been an unreasonable delay by the Council.
21. It is our view that the Council is complying with the Panel’s recommendations and developing the new policy. It has also apologised to Mr A.
22. We cannot tell the Council what to put in the new policy, and the Panel was also not specific about the detail of the policy, that is a matter for the Council. However, we are satisfied that it is formulating the new policy and trying to involve Mr A so we will not be taking any further action.

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Final decision

23. We will not investigate this case as the Council is complying with the recommendations of the Stage 3 Panel and an investigation would not achieve any more for Mr A.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman