Summary: Mr B complained that the Council failed to provide support to him as a care leaver and failed to consider his complaint properly. We found Mr B was not a care leaver in terms of the law and so the Council does not have a duty towards him. But we did find fault with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. The Council has agreed to pay Mr B £100 and improve its procedures.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained that the Council failed to offer him appropriate support as a former looked after child, failed to respond to his request for support and failed to consider his complaint through the statutory children’s complaints procedure. He has missed out on financial and other support and been caused time and trouble in pursuing the matter.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, and the Council. I have also considered the guidance on the statutory children’s complaints procedure, the Ombudsman’s focus report ‘Are we getting the best from children’s social care complaints?’ published in March 2015 and guide for practitioners about the statutory complaints procedure published in March 2021.
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share the final decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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What I found

Council duties to care leavers

6. The law and government guidance set out the legal duties of councils to provide ongoing support for children leaving care.
7. Councils have a responsibility to plan continuing support for all care leavers. This duty continues until they reach the age of 21, or if they are being helped with education and training, until age 25.
8. The different categories of care leavers are:

Eligible children

• Children who are in care, are aged 16 and 17 and who have been looked after children for a certain period of time.

Relevant children

• Children who are 16 or 17 , who meet the criteria for eligible children but who leave care.

Former relevant children

• Young people who before reaching 18 were either eligible or relevant children.

Statutory complaints procedure

9. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at most complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
10. The guidance says that councils do not need to consider complaints made more than one year after the grounds to make representations arose. But it also says that decisions should be made on a case by case basis and there should generally be a presumption in favour of accepting a complaint unless there is good reason against it. The guidance goes on to say:

The time limit can be extended at the local authority’s discretion if it is still possible to consider the representations effectively and efficiently. Local authorities may also wish to consider such complaints if it would be unreasonable to expect the complainant to have made the complaint earlier. For example, where the child was not able to make the complaint or did not feel confident in bringing it forward in the year time limit.

What happened

11. Mr B was in care when he was a child. He returned to the care of his mother when he was 15 years old, who lived in different council area. The Council closed the case in May 2016. Mr B says he had a pathway plan and a support worker.
12. In October 2021, when Mr B was 21, he contacted the Council to ask about financial support with setting up home from the Council as a care leaver. He had met his old support worker, and this reminded him of the possibility of support from the Council.
13. He didn’t receive a reply, so in November 2021 he made a formal complaint. The Council responded in December 2021: it asked for more information about his situation but said if he left care in 2015 then the Council would not accept the complaint because it was outside the twelve month time limit.
14. Mr B replied in January 2022: he said he left care in 2015 but was subject to a care order until he was 18 and was given a pathway plan which explained he would be entitled to financial support at certain ages and a support worker. He said his mental health had deteriorated and he received no support.
15. Twenty two minutes after receiving Mr B’s email the Council replied saying the issues he had raised were over 12 months ago and so could not be investigated under the statutory procedure. The Council forwarded the complaint to the Children in Care Team to respond outside of the complaints process.
16. Mr B did not receive a response and so in early February 2022 he complained to us. We contacted the Council and it responded to his complaint on 10 February 2022.
17. The letter said Mr B was not a care leaver because he left care, and the care order was discharged, before he was 16 years old. A supervision order was in place until after his 16th birthday, but this did not mean he was a looked after child. It had no record of a pathway plan and because he returned to his mother before he was 16 there was no legal requirement to give him one. It said the case was referred to the new council where his mother lived. The tone of the second half of the letter was fairly aggressive, challenging Mr B to provide evidence that said the payments would be made and stating that everything he had said was completely incorrect. It said:

‘You, Mr [B] were never a Relevant-Former Relevant Care leaver. We have not failed in any way to provide you with support or advice as you Mr [B] state.’

18. Mr B then complained again to us.

Analysis

Support as a care leaver

19. As Mr B left care, and the care order was discharged, before he was 16 years old, he is not a care leaver within the terms of the law and so does not qualify for financial support or other assistance from the Council.

Complaint handling

20. Although Mr B is not entitled to support as a care leaver, I have found fault with the way the Council responded to his queries and how it dealt with his complaint.
21. The Council, shortly after receiving information from Mr B, decided it could not consider the complaint because the events were more than 12 months old. The Council says previous internal discussions would have been held about the age of the events in conjunction with looking at Mr B’s case records. But there is no evidence to show these took place or that the Council considered its discretion to consider older complaints or that the presumption should be in favour of accepting complaints, as set out in the guidance. Mr B gave sufficient information to show he was vulnerable and the failure to acknowledge or consider this was fault.
22. I accept the Council ensured Mr B received a response to his complaint and it covered the issues he had raised. But the tone of the letter was inappropriate and unprofessional, suggesting Mr B was not telling the truth. It also did not contain any evidence to support its view that Mr B was not a care leaver or explain the terms used or signpost him to any other sources of help. If the Council had responded to his complaint through the complaints process it may have ensured that a more sensitive and thorough response was sent to him.
23. These failures caused Mr B distress and frustration at a difficult time.

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Agreed action

24. In recognition of the injustice caused to Mr B I recommended the Council within one month of the final decision:
• pays Mr B £100
• reminds complaint staff of the statutory guidance on complaint handling and ensures they are aware, either through training or a guidance note, of how to consider complaints about older events; and
• ensures complaint staff have been trained on how to write appropriate and sensitive complaint responses with supporting evidence.
25. The Council has agreed to my recommendations

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Final decision

26. I consider this is a proportionate way of putting right the injustice caused to Mr B and I have completed my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman