Mr A complained about the service provided by the Council’s Childrens’ Services since November 2021. He said that the Council had declined to investigate his multi-agency complaints as matters had previously been considered by the Court.
The Ombudsman found that the whilst some aspects related to other agencies and some matters had been considered in court proceedings, the Council had failed to consider and/or respond to those aspects of Mr A’s complaint that had been raised prior to proceedings being issued and which had not been considered by the Court.
The Council agreed to, within 20 working days, reconsider Mr A’s complaint to establish which heads of complaints are matters which had been considered by the Court and which could be investigated and to consider additional matters Mr A had subsequently raised with the Council. The Council further agreed to provide Mr A with a formal written complaint response addressing those matters, which were not the subject of Court proceedings and the additional matters raised.
The Ombudsman’s view was that the above action was reasonable to settle Mr A’s complaint.