Summary: We have upheld Miss X’s complaint the Council delayed its statutory Stage 2 Investigation of her complaint. The Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy, and this removes the need for us to investigate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council should not have put her child onto a Child in Need Plan. She complains she escalated her complaint to Stage 2 of the Statutory Children’s Complaints Procedure, but the Council has not yet started its investigation.

Back to top

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

5. Miss X complained the Council should not have put her child onto a Child in Need Plan and should not have shared information with other agencies. The Council responded to her Stage 1 complaint. Miss X was not happy with the Council’s response, so she escalated her complaint to Stage 2 of the Statutory Children’s Complaints Procedure.
6. According to the Statutory Children’s Complaints Procedure the Council is required to appoint an Independent Investigator and an Independent Person to carry out the Stage 2 investigation. The Stage 2 Investigation should take no longer than 65 days from the date the request was made.
7. The Council explained to Miss X it sometimes experiences difficulties in identifying individuals to take on an investigation. More than 100 days after requesting the Stage 2 Investigation, the Council had still not appointed an Independent Investigator or an Independent Person to carry out the investigation into Miss X’s complaint.
8. The Council admitted fault. We asked the Council to begin the Stage 2 Investigation within one month and to write to Miss X regarding next steps. We also asked the Council to make a symbolic payment to Miss X to acknowledge the distress caused by avoidable delay. The Council has agreed to take these actions.

Back to top

Final decision

We have upheld Miss X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy, and this removes the need for us to investigate.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman