The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s care of a Looked After Child. The Council has agreed to investigate the complaint through the statutory children’s complaints procedure. It would not be proportionate for us to investigate.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the care the Council provided to his child. He said the Council had also failed to keep him regularly updated about their progress. He said the Council were not listening to his parental views or opinions. He wants the Council to investigate his complaints properly.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. Mr X’s child is in the care of the local of authority, that means the Council should have followed this procedure when responding to his complaint. It did not do this. Therefore, if we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing Mr X injustice.
We therefore asked the Council to investigate his complaints from stage two of that procedure. To its credit, the Council agreed. The whole stage two process should be completed within 25 working days, but guidance allows an extension for up to 65 working days where required. The Council has agreed to start the stage two process from the date we issue our final decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by completing the children’s statutory complaints procedure. It would not be proportionate for us to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman