Lancashire County Council (21 006 175)

Statement Not upheld Friends and family carers 31-Mar-2022

Summary: Ms X complained the Council has refused to provide her with financial support after she started caring for her grandchildren, E and F, when their mother went into a rehabilitation centre. The Council was not at fault because the arrangement for E and F to live with Ms X was a private family arrangement. F then lived with Ms X on a permanent basis under a child arrangement order following court proceedings which Ms X began independently from the Council.

Gloucestershire County Council (21 017 758)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Friends and family carers 30-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council limiting his daughter’s contact with him. Contact arrangements are a matter for a court and Mr X has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use.

Milton Keynes Council (21 003 690)

Statement Not upheld Friends and family carers 29-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide adequate support for her adopted son. This is because the Council has agreed to carry out an investigation under the statutory complaints procedure for children’s services.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (21 018 685)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Friends and family carers 23-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s grandchild being put up for adoption. This is because the decision was made by the courts and we cannot investigate what happened in court or decisions made by the courts.

Durham County Council (21 007 905)

Statement Not upheld Friends and family carers 10-Mar-2022

Summary: Ms X cares for a child under a Child Arrangement Order. She complains about the Council’s decision to end her funding and says the Council fettered its discretion to continue providing the funding. Ms X says this has caused her distress. We do not find fault with the Council as there is no evidence it fettered its discretion.

Plymouth City Council (20 012 915)

Statement Upheld Friends and family carers 04-Mar-2022

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with sufficient information regarding how the Special Guardianship allowance would be calculated and did not explain that it would be means tested. Mr X also complained the Council did not respond to his queries regarding the calculation of the allowance. The Council’s failure to provide clear and consistent information regarding the way in which the special guardianship allowance is calculated and how means testing would affect Mr and Mrs X amounts to fault. This fault has caused Mr and Mrs X an injustice.

Kent County Council (21 004 214)

Statement Upheld Friends and family carers 02-Mar-2022

Summary: Mr F complains the Council failed to provide proper support after he agreed to be a supported homes host for a looked after child. The Council has accepted there was fault. It has agreed to make a payment to Mr F to remedy the injustice caused.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (21 016 179)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Friends and family carers 01-Mar-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to provide the complainant with appropriate support when he started caring for three children in 2005 and that the Council lost the family's personal records. This is because the events happened too long ago, and complaints about lost personal information can be raised with the Information Commissioner.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (21 004 875)

Statement Not upheld Friends and family carers 17-Feb-2022

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s involvement with her son, Mr Y’s, family. There was no fault in how the Council considered and incorporated Mr Y’s views in its assessment of his children’s needs or investigated his safeguarding concerns. The assessments were not biased against Mr Y.

Durham County Council (21 006 764)

Statement Not upheld Friends and family carers 14-Feb-2022

Summary: there is no fault in the Council’s decision to end Ms G’s Special Guardianship Order allowance. The Ombudsman cannot question decisions taken without fault.