The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed implementing actions it agreed after considering a complaint from Mr X under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to implement the actions within one month and apologise to Mr X for not doing so sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complains that the Council has failed to implement actions it agreed to implement after his complaint about child protection matters was upheld.
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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because there has been a delay in the Council implementing recommendations it agreed to after Mr X’s complaint was upheld.
We therefore asked that within one month the Council complete the agreed actions and writes to Mr X to apologise for not doing so sooner. To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and has agreed with our recommendation.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing an appropriate remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman