Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of matters involving her children. The Council has already investigated and responded to some of Ms X’s concerns under all three stages of the statutory complaint procedure. It has apologised and offered remedial action for the injustice caused by the faults identified. We could not add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed in its duty to promote education of her child as a Looked after Child. Ms X says the Council has failed to provide references to help her child access further education. She also complains the Council has failed to offer compensation to her child, which she believes it should provide in addition to other therapeutic work the Council has offered. Ms X believes the Council’s apology is not enough to remedy the injustice caused to her child and wider family who have helped care for the child. She wants the Council to offer proper compensation and to act to support her child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
3. 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. 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. Because of this, if a council has investigated something under the statutory children’s complaint process, the Ombudsman would not normally re-investigate it.
7. The Council concluded its consideration of Ms X’s complaints under stage three of the statutory complaint process in June 2025. This included consideration of the following complaints about the Council:

• misrepresentation in court papers about Ms X’s children being Looked After Children.
• failure to provide support to Ms X’s older child as a Child in Need.
• discrepancy in the level of allowances paid to Ms X’s relatives when they took over care of Ms X’s children.
• general issues with communication and interaction with Ms X and her relatives.

8. The stage three review panel made further recommendations to address the deficiencies in the Council’s communication and interaction with Ms X and her family. The Council accepted the findings and recommendations made at stages two and three of Ms X’s complaints.
9. Further investigation of Ms X’s complaints by us is unlikely to add to the Council’s responses. The Council’s responses to Ms X’s complaints under final two stages of the statutory process were detailed and thorough. The remedial action the Council has offered to Ms X and her family is in line with the recommendations we would typically expect in such cases.
10. Ms X’s complaints to us are not issues that featured in her complaints to the Council considered under the statutory process. Instead, Ms X’s relative made complaints to the Council about the support Ms X’s older child receives with their education. Ms X’s relative is the child’s Special Guardian. We have already considered a complaint from Ms X’s relative about these matters and concluded we should not investigate them further.
11. We will not normally investigate a complaint which has already been through all stages of the statutory process. It is not a good use of public money to do so. There is unlikely to be further evidence available that would lead us to a different outcome or conclusions. In this case, the question for us is whether our intervention would add anything to the Council’s investigation and there is nothing to suggest that it would do so.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation by us could not add to the Council’s responses. We have also previously considered and decided not to investigate the same complaints made by Ms X’s relative.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman