Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delays in the Council’s handling of their complaint under the statutory children complaints procedure. This is because an investigation would not lead to any further worthwhile outcomes.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about delay in the Council’s handling of their complaint under the statutory children complaints procedure.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)

3. 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 the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X first requested their complaint be escalated to stage three of the statutory children complaints procedure mid-August. In line with the statutory guidance, the Council should have completed stage three within 30 working days. This was the end of September 2024. In response to our enquiries, the Council confirmed it arranged for the panel hearing to be held in early November 2024. This was due to having to wait for the independent investigation officer to return to work.
7. I acknowledge this was around a month later than required by the statutory guidance. However, I don’t consider this delay will have caused significant enough injustice to warrant further investigation.
8. To date, the stage three review panel hearing has not been held. However, I don’t consider this was due to any fault by the Council as the stage three review panel hearing has not been held due to Mrs X’s request to pause the process. The Council provided evidence to show Mrs X requested to pause the stage three process in September and November 2024. A further email from Mrs X in January 2025 also reiterated her request for the stage three process to be paused. There is no evidence Mrs X contacted the Council to ask it to resume the stage three process.
9. Given Mrs X’s unhappiness with the delay, it appears reasonable she now wants the Council to proceed with the stage three review panel hearing. Therefore, we asked the Council to proceed with the stage three review panel and to hold the hearing within four weeks of the final decision. The Council confirmed the stage three review panel had been arranged for early August 2025. Therefore, an investigation is not proportionate as there are no other worthwhile outcomes achievable.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because an investigation would not lead to any further worthwhile outcomes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman