12.1. Why do we share decision statements?

Our decision statements are a valuable resource for regulatory bodies – OFSTED and CQC – to use in their inspections (of local education authorities and care providers respectively). Our findings and recommendations can help inspectors focus their work on what matters most.

Where we have made service improvement recommendations to help prevent future injustice, these inspections can look at whether promised changes have happened and made a difference.

Our compliance checks inevitably focus on SMART actions. For example we check an action plan has been agreed, but rarely have time to see whether it’s necessarily made a difference.

Regulatory inspection work can look more deeply and in the longer-term at whether the action plan has actually improved what we found was going wrong.

The guidance in this manual is a summary. Further subject specific information can be found by following the links provided below. Please check with your manager (AO or AM) if you are uncertain about whether or not to share a decision statement.

12.2. Sharing decisions with Ofsted

Details about when and how to share decisions with Ofsted is set out in casework subject guidance here.

In summary we share all upheld decisions on any children’s services and education complaints with Ofsted (except admission and general school transport complaints). If the decision relates to SEN transport then please still send the decision.

Upheld complaints are those where:

• Injustice remedied (Assessment Decision)
• Remedy agreed during investigation [no finding on mal, no public interest]
• Fault and injustice
• Fault no injustice

When we decide to share a decision statement with Ofsted we should:

• Use the Ofsted [autotext] standard paragraph in the ‘Ombudsman’s powers’ section of the final decision so the complainant and organisation are aware:
  • Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)”.
  • Email the SOR from echo to Ofsted. Please include the category and sub category of the complaint in the title of the email using the echo template (Email-OFSTED notification)
• Complete the ‘Advise other Bodies’ drop down box in the decision workflow screen (Ofsted)

12.3. Sharing decisions with CQC

Details about when and how to share decisions with CQC is set out in the CQC information sharing agreement here and the Memorandum of Understanding here.

In summary we share all adult social care decisions (Part 3 and Part 3a) where:

• Where we believe there appears to have been a breach of regulatory requirements (e.g. the Fundamental Standards)
• We have made recommendations to the adult social care provider or council and ask it to develop an action plan to address the failings.
• Where our investigation indicates abuse or neglect of a person in vulnerable circumstances is likely to have happened
• When we decide to share a decision statement with the CQC we should:
  • Use the CQC [autotext] standard paragraph in the Ombudsman’s role and powers in the final decision so the complainant and organisation are aware
  • “Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission.”
  • Email CQC attaching a copy of the final decision/AFN using the Echo template CQC notification
• Complete the ‘Advise other bodies’ drop down box in the decision workflow screen (CQC)