Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed progressing a complaint to stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by completing its investigation without further delay. It will also apologise and make a payment to the complainant to remedy the time and trouble they have been to.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about social care’s involvement with her children and historical information within its records. She said its failing caused her years of emotional distress. There are several things Ms X wants the Council to correct in its files and apologise to her.

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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).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The statutory complaints procedure

5. 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.
6. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution, where councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
7. 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 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.
8. 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. The council must hold the panel within 30 days of the date of request and then issue a final response within 20 days of the panel hearing.
9. The statutory guidance says that if a complaint has been accepted at stage one the local authority is obliged to ensure the complaint proceeds to stages two and three if the complainant requests this.

Assessment

10. Ms X raised many concerns about social care’s involvement with her children and historical information within its records. In March 2026 the Council said it would conduct a stage two investigation under the statutory children’s complaint procedure. This is the appropriate process for the Council to deal with Ms X’s concerns.
11. The Council should have issued a stage two response by June 2026. It did not do so. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because there has been a delay in the Council considering the complaint and issuing Ms X with a stage two response. This has meant Ms X has been put to some significant time and trouble pursuing her complaint.
12. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint by completing the following actions within four weeks of this decision:
• Complete the stage two investigation.
• Provide Ms X with the appropriate information about the next steps available to her including the stage three panel when the stage two process is complete.
• Pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £150, being £50 per month for the delay between June and September 2026, and a further £50 per month until she receives the stage two response.
• Remind relevant staff of the need to complete the children's statutory complaints procedure once started, and within the statutory timescales.
13. We are satisfied with the actions the Council proposes to take.

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Final decision

14. 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