The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s children’s statutory complaint. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to complete all three stages of the statutory children’s complaint procedure. The Council has already accepted and apologised for the delays identified at Stage One, and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained about delay in the Council’s handling of his statutory children’s services complaint. He said the Council failed to meet the Stage One deadline. Mr X said these failings have caused him frustration and distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or It would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X said the Council delayed issuing its Stage One response after he made his initial complaint. The evidence shows the Council exceeded the deadline by approximately three weeks. The Council has already apologised for this delay, which is an appropriate remedy. Further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome for Mr X, so we will not investigate this part of the complaint.
The Council has agreed to Mr X’s request to escalate the matter to Stage Two investigation. The timescale for this stage has not yet expired, and the Council aims to complete it within the 65‑working‑day limit.
It is reasonable to expect Mr X to complete the Children Act statutory complaints procedure. If Mr X remains dissatisfied after Stage Two, he can request a Stage Three review. Once all stages of the complaints process have been exhausted, Mr X may return to us if he is still unhappy with the outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has apologised for some parts of the complaint and we would not achieve any more than that. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to complete the Children Act statutory complaints procedure.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman