Wokingham Borough Council (25 008 248)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Council administering the statutory children’s complaint procedure. The Council has agreed a suitable remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that there is delay in the Council’s administration of the children’s statutory complaint procedure. Specifically, he says it did not respond to his request for stage two consideration within 65 working days. Mr X says he feels unsupported and concerned by the Council’s actions
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X asked for the Council to consider his complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory process in April 2025. This should have been completed within 65 working days, concluding during July 2025. The Council told Mr X this was because there was a lack of available independent officers to carry out the investigation.
- Mr X complained to us in June 2026, he was yet to receive the Council’s stage two response.
- We asked the Council to conclude the stage two investigation and remedy Mr X’s injustice caused by the Council’s delays, by paying him a symbolic payment of £500.
- In response to our request, the Council confirmed it had since issued the stage two response to Mr X before our contact with it, and it had already offered him a symbolic payment of £250. To its credit, the Council then agreed to resolve the complaint Mr X made to us. It agreed, that within four weeks of my final decision, it will now make an additional payment to him to the amount of £250 to meet our request.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has agreed a suitable remedy for his injustice. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman