Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council replied to her children services complaint. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision to initially use the corporate complaints procedure. And it is reasonable to expect Miss X to complete the statutory complaints procedure.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council failed to properly reply to her children services complaint.

Back to top

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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the Miss X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

Background events

5. Miss X complained to the Council in October 2024 about matters relating to a children and family assessment carried out in January 2024 and the child in need meetings which followed. The Council replied in its corporate complaints’ procedure in April 2025. Miss X made further comments. The Council considered her comments and offered to either meet with her or to carry out a Children Act statutory complaints procedure stage two investigation. Miss X refused and says she wants a stage three review.

The statutory complaints procedure

6. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail. We also published practitioner guidance on the procedures, setting out our expectations.
7. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
8. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigating officer (IO) to look into the complaint and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation and ensuring its independence.
9. Following the investigation, a senior manager (the adjudicating officer) at the council should carry out an adjudication. The officer considers the IO report and any report from the IP. They decide what the council’s response to the complaint will be, including what action it will take. The adjudicating officer should then write to the complainant with a copy of the investigation report, any report from the independent person and the adjudication response.
10. The whole stage two process should be completed within 25 working days but guidance allows an extension for up to 65 working days where required.
11. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel. The council must hold the panel within 30 working days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 working days of the panel hearing.
12. The statutory children’s complaints procedure was set up to provide children, young people and those involved in their welfare with access to an independent, thorough and prompt response to their concerns. This independence is not available to complaints put through the corporate complaints procedure. Because of this, we expect people to complete the complaints procedure before we will consider whether there were any flaws in how the Council investigated their concerns.

Analysis

13. The statutory complaints procedure is for complaints which are about a child. The Council decided that Miss X’s initial complaint in October 2024 was not about the child but about the effect on her. It therefore used the corporate procedure. From the information we have, we are unlikely to criticise this decision.
14. The Council is entitled to offer the statutory process once further information comes to light. We are unlikely to criticise this offer. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to complete the statutory process before we could consider the whole complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

15. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision to use its corporate complaints procedure. And it is reasonable to expect Miss X to complete the Children Act statutory complaints procedure.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman