Summary: We have upheld this complaint about delays in completing the children’s statutory complaints procedure. However, we will not investigate this complaint further because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms Y.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complains about delays in the Council completing the children’s statutory complaints procedure.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. The Children Act 1989 established the requirement for councils to have a formal representations procedure to deal with complaints about local authority functions under Part 3 of the Act and some sections of Parts 4 and 5. We call this ‘the children’s statutory complaints procedure’.
7. The statutory complaints procedure has three parts. The first stage is local resolution and should be completed in a maximum of 20 working days. The second stage is an investigation. This is where the council appoints an Investigating Officer (IO) to complete the investigation and prepare a report with their findings. The entire stage two should take no more than 65 working days. The third stage is a review panel. It is made up of three independent people and considers the adequacy of the stage two investigation. The panel makes findings on each complaint element and can make new recommendations. The panel should be held within 30 working days of the complainant’s request. After the hearing, a relevant director considers its findings and issues the council’s adjudication within 20 working days.
8. Ms Y raised a complaint with the Council. It provided a stage one response; however, Ms Y was unhappy with this. She escalated this to stage two, which she had a right to do. The Council acknowledged the stage two request but failed to complete this within the statutory timeframe. It said the complaint was not properly logged when it was received.
9. If we investigated this complaint, we would likely find the Council at fault for failing to complete the stage two investigation within the statutory timeframe.
10. We therefore asked the Council to begin its stage two investigation without delay, and within one month of this decision statement.
11. If Ms Y remains unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, she has a right to escalate this to a stage three panel. She can return to the Ombudsman once all stages have been completed, if she wishes. We will not reinvestigate the substantive matters of the complaint. We will consider whether the Council has properly completed the process, properly considered any findings or recommendations and whether it has carried these out without delay.

Agreed action

12. To its credit, the Council agreed. The Council should complete the agreed actions within one month of this decision, and communicate this with Ms Y.

Back to top

Final decision

13. We have upheld this complaint but will not investigate it further because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms Y.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman