London Borough of Merton (25 030 380)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Miss X’s complaint about delay at stage 2 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.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council delayed its response at stage two of the children’s statutory complaint procedure.
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)
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X escalated her complaint to stage 2 of the children’s statutory complaints procedure in September 2025 and the Council should have provided its stage 2 response by the end of December 2025.
- In response to our enquiries the Council said it had issued the stage 2 response on 11 May 2026 and told Miss X how to escalate to stage 3. This is outside of the 65-working day statutory timescale, and the delay is likely to have caused Miss X frustration and distress.
- We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by the delay by paying Miss X £250 within one month of this decision.
Agreed action
- To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and it will complete the action at paragraph 8.
Final decision
- We have upheld Miss X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman