London Borough of Southwark (24 003 014)

Statement Not upheld Fostering 21-Jan-2025

Summary: Mr X was a foster carer for his brother. He complained about the support he received when his brother made allegations against him and the Council ended his fostering payments. There is no fault in the support offered or the Council’s decision to end his fostering payments.

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (24 010 529)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 15-Jan-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her contact with her grandchild. This is because the complaint is late. We are unlikely to add anything to the investigation the Council carried out or achieve the outcome Mrs X wants, even if we exercised discretion to investigate this late complaint,

Torbay Council (24 012 890)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 13-Jan-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council made false allegations about his behaviour. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

London Borough of Haringey (24 011 693)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 06-Jan-2025

Summary: We will not investigate the Council’s responses to Mr X complaining the Council is poaching carers from his private foster care agency. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to justify an investigation.

Middlesbrough Borough Council (23 020 396)

Statement Upheld Fostering 05-Dec-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about the way the Council treated her and her husband as foster carers. The Council is at fault for not fully following the standards of care process and delaying its response to Mrs X’s request for a stage two investigation. This caused distress and uncertainty to Mr and Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment and remind staff of the importance of following the full standards of care process.

Wiltshire Council (24 011 239)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 03-Dec-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is at fault in refusing to accept that is has placed a looked after child with the complainant. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

Northumberland County Council (24 009 808)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 25-Nov-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about financial support provided to him as a Special Guardian because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to our exercise discretion. There is also no evidence the Council is at fault for offering different support to foster and kinship carers.

Hampshire County Council (24 009 542)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 20-Nov-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s fostering application process. It is unlikely we would find enough significant Council fault to warrant further investigation.

Devon County Council (23 020 402)

Statement Upheld Fostering 11-Nov-2024

Summary: Mrs Y complains about the Council’s communication with her during the time she fostered two children. She said the Council undervalued and discredited her and as a result the placement ended. The Council acknowledged it could have communicated better with Mrs Y and apologised. This is an appropriate remedy and we have not proposed any further remedial action.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 020 879)

Statement Upheld Fostering 11-Nov-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about failings in the Council’s child protection investigation concerning two children she and her husband were fostering. We found the Council at fault for not including all relevant professionals in its investigation, and for not having a safety plan for both children. This caused Mrs X and her husband frustration and uncertainty about whether the Council’s findings are reliable.