Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council handled her grandchild’s, Y, case under its children services and how it delayed and failed to complete the recommendations made at stage two of its statutory complaints procedure. There was fault by the Council for its delays with completing the stage 2 recommendations and its failure with completing some of the actions. This caused injustice to Y and Ms X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about how the Council:
1. handled her grandchild’s (Y) case under its children’s services
2. delayed and failed to complete the recommendations made in its statutory complaint procedure stage 2 report.
2. Ms X said the matter delayed a settled and permanent arrangement for Y. Ms X also said the matter caused her stress and expense because she felt forced to pursue private legal action to resolve matters.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. Where a council has investigated something under the children’s statutory complaints procedure, the Ombudsman would not normally re-investigate it unless we consider the investigation was flawed.
5. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
6. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
7. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)
8. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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What I have and have not investigated

9. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
10. Ms X made a complaint to the Ombudsman in October 2025, so I have not exercised discretion to investigate matters from 2023. These are late complaints and there are no good reasons to investigate them now.
11. 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)
12. In this case, I find it unreasonable to refer Ms X back to the Council to complete stage 3 of its statutory complaints procedure. This is because in its stage 2 report, the Council gave Ms X an option to make a complaint to the Ombudsman. This was because the Council was of the view that progressing her complaint to stage 3 was unlikely to have resulted in any different outcomes and it had accepted the stage 2 findings and recommendations. Also, Ms X decided to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
13. Therefore, the focus of my investigation is to consider whether the Council completed the recommendations made in the stage 2 report and in a timely manner.

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How I considered this complaint

14. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
15. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Child in Need

16. Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 says councils must safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.
17. A child is in need if:

• they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development unless the council provides support;
• their health or development is likely to be significantly impaired unless the council provides support; or
• they are disabled.

18. When a council assesses a child as being in need, it supports them through a ‘Child in Need Plan’. This should set clear, measurable outcomes for the child and expectations for their parent. Councils should review child in need plans regularly.

Statutory Complaints Procedures

19. 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.
20. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.

Early referrals to the Ombudsman

25. The Ombudsman would normally expect a council and complainant to follow the full complaints procedure. The guidance sets out the circumstances in which a complaint can be referred to the Ombudsman without completing all three stages. This can only happen when the stage two investigation is robust with all, or all significant complaints upheld. Councils must show they agree to meet most of the complainant’s desired outcomes and have a clear action plan for delivery.
26. Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) is an independent public body in England that represents the interests of children in family court cases, such as care proceedings.
27. A CAFCASS Section 7 report is a detailed welfare report ordered by the family court in England and Wales under Section 7 of the Children Act 1989. It assesses what living and contact arrangements are in a child's best interests.
28. Life story work is a therapeutic process that helps adopted, fostered, or kinship care children make sense of their personal history, family background, and reasons for being in care. It combines factual records with creative, child-led activities to build a coherent identity, process trauma, and improve emotional well-being.

Key events

29. Ms X’s grandchild, Y, became a Child in Need due to safeguarding concerns.
30. The Council completed several child in need meetings for Y. He had a child in need plan which included Y’s contact plan between his mother, his father and Ms X.
31. Y’s father and mother had parental responsibilities for him, but Ms X was Y’s main carer, and he resided with Ms X most of the time. This was a private family agreement.
32. In December 2024, Ms X made a complaint to the Council about how it had handled Y’s case under its children services. Ms X complained about the Council’s failure to send her minutes from Y’s child in need meetings or review of actions, poor communication from Y’s social worker, confusion over Y’s contact plans and his longer-term care arrangements.
33. In February 2025, the Council issued its response to Ms X’s complaint, and it apologised for the delays with completing the stage 1 complaints process. Ms X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response, and she asked it to escalate her complaint to stage 2 of the statutory complaints procedure.
34. The Council agreed a plan with Y’s father and mother (who had parental responsibility) for him to start living with his mother by the end of May. The Council said Ms X did not agree with the new plan as she felt it would not safeguard Y.
35. In March, Ms X initiated court proceedings for Y’s permanent residence to be determined. This was so Ms X’s home could be made Y’s main residence.
36. Ms X continued to be Y’s main carer pending the court’s decision about his permanent residence.
37. In July, the stage 2 report was issued and out of twelve complaint points made by Ms X, six were upheld, three were partially upheld and the remaining three were not upheld. The recommendations made in relation to the upheld and partially upheld complaint points were for the Council to:
1. issue an apology to Ms X and her husband, Y’s father and Y’s mother for the delays in reaching a permanent plan for Y.
2. issue an apology to Y for not keeping him at the centre of all discussions, ascertaining his wishes and feelings, and helping him understand his situation.
3. ensure that child in need meetings consider all aspects of a child’s needs and avoid focusing on the adults to the detriment of the child.
4. provide Ms X with copies of the minutes of all the child in need meetings she attended with details of the date the meeting was held and the date the minutes were written.
5. consider how life story work and any future therapy needed could be provided to Y.
38. On 14 August, the Council issued its adjudication letter, and it agreed with the findings and recommendations in the stage 2 report. The Council advised Ms X that if she remained dissatisfied with its response, she could either escalate her complaint to stage 3 of the statutory complaints procedure or make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
39. Ms X made a complaint to the Ombudsman about the Council’s delays and failure to complete the recommendations made in the stage 2 report.
40. In November, Ms X chased the Council for its completion of the recommended actions.
41. On 2 December 2025, the Council completed recommendations ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘d’ made at stage 2 process.
42. In response to our enquiries, the Council said in relation to:

• recommendation ‘c’ - that the child in need plan was reviewed in partnership with all of Y’s adults and professionals.
• recommendation ‘e’ – that Y had continued to receive play therapy and 1:1 support through his school and the plans and recommendations for future life story work have been included in the CAFCASS Section 7 report which was completed on 26 April 2026.

Analysis

43. Although the Council did not complete all the three stages of the statutory complaint procedure in this case, I am satisfied a comprehensive independent investigation was conducted at stages 1 and 2 of the complaints procedure with appropriate findings and recommendations. I do not consider the investigation was flawed, so I have not re-investigated the substantive matters.
44. Also, I find all significant complaints made by Ms X were upheld in the stage 2 report, therefore I accept the criteria for an early referral of the statutory complaints procedure to the Ombudsman was met in this case. The Council issued its adjudication letter to Ms X in August 2025 where it accepted the stage 2 findings and recommendations. In view of this, my investigation will be to consider whether the Council completed the recommendations made in the stage 2 report and in a timely manner.
45. It took the Council approximately four months to complete recommendations ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘d’ (August 2025 – December 2025). This was fault and it caused Ms X distress and the time and trouble chasing the completion of the recommended actions.
46. It also took the Council approximately eight months to complete recommendation ‘e’ (August 2025 - April 2026). This was fault and it caused injustice to Y. On balance, I find had the Council considered and completed recommendation ‘e’ in a timely manner, the life story work and any identified future therapy needed for Y could have been put in place for him sooner.
47. As regards recommendation ‘c’, I am not satisfied the Council has completed this action. This is because the recommendation was not specific to Y’s case. It was for the Council to demonstrate how it would ensure that child in need meetings consider all aspects of a child’s needs and avoid focusing on the adults to the detriment of the child. Therefore, recommendation ‘c’ remains outstanding. This is fault and caused uncertainty to Ms X as to whether the Council properly considered and completed the recommended action to prevent recurrence. I find the injustice to Ms X also potentially causes injustice to others who are in the child in need process where the faults in this case are replicated in other cases. This will be addressed in the ‘action’ section below.

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Action

48. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the Council has agreed to complete the following actions within one month of the final decision:

• apologise in writing to Y and Ms X to acknowledge the injustice caused to them by the Council’s faults as identified above. The apology should be in accordance with our guidance, Making an effective apology
• make Ms X a symbolic payment of £200 to acknowledge the injustice caused to her by the Council’s failure and delays in completing all the recommendations made at stage 2 statutory complaints procedure
• provide an action plan to show how the Council will ensure that child in need meetings consider all aspects of a child’s needs and avoid focusing on the adults to the detriment of the child
• introduce a monitoring system to ensure recommendations are completed in a timely manner for all future statutory complaints after the Council issues its adjudication letter.

49. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

50. I find fault by the Council causing injustice to Y and Ms X. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman