Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint because the Council delayed considering his complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council delayed considering his complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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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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 Council is considering Mr X’s complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigator and an independent person who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. Councils have up to 13 weeks to complete stage two of the process from the date of request.
7. The Council accepts that there was a delay in investigating Mr X’s complaint due to it needing to reappoint the investigator and independent person. That appointment has now been made and after attempts to meet with Mr X to agree a statement of complaint were unsuccessful, the Council is progressing Mr X’s complaint based on its understanding of the complaint. This is an approach it is entitled to take.
8. If we were to investigate this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because there was a delay in the Council reallocating Mr X’s complaint to the investigator and independent person and issuing Mr X with a stage two response. This has caused Mr X frustration in the form of uncertainty and frustration.
9. We therefore asked the Council to apologise to Mr X for the delay and make a payment to him of £100 to remedy the distress this caused. To its credit, the Council agreed. The Council also agreed to issue a stage two response to Mr X within two months of the date of our final decision.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing an appropriate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman