Summary: The Council failed to complete the actions agreed following an earlier Ombudsman investigation within the agreed timescales.

The complaint

1. The Council failed to complete the identified action within the agreed timescale following an earlier Ombudsman decision. It delayed issuing a stage two adjudication letter on a complaint made through the children’s statutory complaint procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I discussed the complaint with Ms X.
6. I considered the document the Council sent in response to my enquiries.
7. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Children’s statutory complaint process

8. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
9. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
10. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigating officer (IO) and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. Councils have up to 13 weeks (65 working days) to complete stage two of the process.
11. Stage two starts either when the complainant requests it or where the complainant and the council agree that stage one is not appropriate. If the complaint has been submitted verbally, the council must ensure the details of the complaint and the desired outcome are recorded in writing and agreed with the complainant.
12. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel. The council must hold the panel within 30 days of the date of request, and then issue a final response within 20 days of the panel hearing.
13. The Ombudsman would normally expect a council and complainant to follow the full complaints procedure. The guidance sets out the circumstances in which a complaint can be referred to the Ombudsman without completing all three stages. This can only happen when the stage two investigation is robust with all complaints upheld. Councils must show they agree to meet most of the complainant’s desired outcomes and have a clear action plan for delivery.

What happened

14. Ms X complained to us that the Council delayed responding to a complaint she made initially in June 2022 about the Council’s actions when it placed a young family member, Mr Y, in her care. Ms X complained on her own behalf, and on Mr Y’s behalf. Ms X said the Council had responded through the corporate complaint procedure instead of the children’s statutory complaint procedure it should have used. We found that if we were to investigate it is likely we would have found fault. We invited the Council to consider Ms X’s complaint through the statutory complaint procedure.
15. We issued our final decision on Ms X’s complaint in the middle of March 2023. The Council agreed to our recommendation to complete a stage two consideration of Ms X’s complaint through the statutory children’s complaint procedure.
16. We asked the Council for an update at the end of June 2023. It said it had recently agreed the statement of complaint and it had started the investigation.
17. The IO completed their investigation on 14 November 2023.
18. The Council issued an adjudication letter to Ms X at the beginning of December 2023. It agreed with the IO’s findings and said it would discuss an action plan in response to the IO’s recommendations. The Council told Ms X of her escalation rights to stage three of the statutory complaint procedure.
19. Ms X told me she is aware of her right to a stage three panel and has not yet decided if she will request one.

My findings

20. The Council agreed to complete stage two of the statutory complaint procedure for Ms X and Mr Y’s complaint in line with the regulations. The Council had already considered the complaint through the corporate procedure and therefore it had the statement of complaint in writing. The request for a stage two was the date of our previous decision in mid-March 2023. The Council should have completed stage two of the statutory complaint procedure within 65 days. The Council took 190 days to issue the stage two adjudication letter which was not in line with the regulations and was a delay of 125 days. The Council is at fault for non-compliance with an agreed remedy.
21. When a council agrees to our recommendations, it should make every effort to comply within the agreed timescales. The Council did not do this in this case. This is a breach of trust, causes uncertainty and frustration for complainants and risks undermining public confidence in the Council.
22. The Council has now completed the agreed actions. The delay has caused Ms X and Mr Y frustration and uncertainty, particularly as our previous investigation found the Council had not properly considered Ms X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to my recommendation to remedy the additional injustice the Council’s non-compliance caused to Ms X and Mr Y.
23. The Council has now issued its stage two response and has provided Ms X with her right to progress to the third stage of the statutory complaint procedure, which Ms X has not yet used. It is open to Ms X to complain to us if she remains dissatisfied following the completion of stage three.

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Agreed action

24. Within one month of this decision the Council will:
• pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £300 to recognise the avoidable frustration and uncertainty caused to her by its failure to comply with the agreed action following our earlier decision;
• pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £300 to recognise the avoidable frustration and uncertainty caused to Mr Y by its failure to comply with the agreed action following our earlier decision. Ms X should use this for Mr Y’s benefit as she sees fit; and
• remind Council Officers dealing with children’s statutory complaints that where a complaint is made in writing the stage two timelines begin at the date of request.
25. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

26. I have completed my investigation. I found fault causing injustice and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused by the fault and to improve its service.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman