The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delay at stage 2 of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has delayed responding to his complaint at stage 2 of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. He says the delay has caused him distress, frustration and uncertainty.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X 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.
At stage two of the procedure, councils appoint an investigating officer (IO) to look into the complaint and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation and ensuring its independence.
Following the investigation, a senior manager (the adjudicating officer) at the council should carry out an adjudication. The adjudicating officer should then write to the complainant with a copy of the investigation report, any report from the independent person and the adjudication response.
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.
Mr X escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the children’s statutory complaints procedure on 22 June 2026. In July 2026, the Council told Mr X it was recruiting independent professionals to carry out stage 2 investigations and could not say when its stage 2 response would be issued to him. The timescale for completing stage 2 of the process is referred to in paragraph 8 above.
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delay as there is not yet fault by the Council. The Council is still within the 65-working day statutory timescale for providing its stage 2 response to Mr X meaning there is currently no delay. The Council has until 21 September 2026 to provide its Stage 2 response after which time if no response is received, Mr X can come back to us so we may consider this matter further.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman