Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s complaint handling. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained about the Council’s handling of his complaint. Mr Y said the Council did not agree the scope of the complaint with him before considering it and did not consider his complaint using the children’s statutory complaints procedure as it should have done.
2. Mr Y said this caused distress.
3. Mr Y wants the Council to consider his complaint using the children’s statutory complaints procedure after agreeing its scope with him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr Y.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr Y said the Council did not agree the scope of the complaint with him before considering it. Mr Y also said the Council wrongly used its corporate complaints procedure to respond to him when it should have used the children’s statutory complaints procedure.
8. From the evidence I have seen, the Council made reasonable efforts to agree scope with Mr Y. This included meeting with him to discuss this as part of the stage two complaint process.
9. We will not investigate this part of Mr Y’s complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
10. Mr Y said the Council’s early help services referred his child for support without his consent. In Mr Y’s view, his complaint about this should have been considered using the children’s statutory complaints procedure.
11. The statutory guidance for children’s complaints makes clear any child or young person (or parent or person who holds parental responsibility for him) who is not looked after by the local authority but is in need can complain under the statutory children’s complaints procedure.
12. Early help and child in need are not the same: early help is non-statutory support for emerging needs, while child in need refers to statutory intervention under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
13. Based on the above, there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider Mr Y’s complaint using the children’s statutory complaints procedure. We will not investigate this part of Mr Y’s complaint.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman