Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not appropriately consider her complaint about support for her foster child. The Council was at fault as it failed to investigate Ms X’s complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The Council agreed to arrange and start a stage two investigation under these procedures within one month of this decision and review its complaint handling procedures.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the support the Council provided to her foster child who is on a ‘staying put’ arrangement. She said this caused the family financial loss and distress. She also complained it refused to consider her complaint under the children's statutory complaints 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 a council’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 spoke to Ms X about her complaint and considered the information she provided.
6. I considered the Council’s response to Ms X’s complaint.
7. I considered the relevant law, the children’s complaints procedure statutory guidance - Children's social care: getting the best from complaints, and our Guidance for practitioners on the children’s statutory complaints process.
8. 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

Relevant legislation and statutory guidance

Staying put arrangements

9. Section 23CZA of Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 sets out the arrangements council’s must make for children to continue to live with their former foster parents when they become 18 years old. This is called a staying put arrangement. Council’s have a duty to provide advice, assistance and support to the child and the former foster parent to maintain the staying put arrangement. The support to the former foster parent must include financial support.

Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure

10. The Children Act 1989 and statutory guidance ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’ outlines a statutory complaints process which councils must follow for certain complaints about children’s services.
11. The statutory complaints process has three stages:
• local resolution by the Council (Stage 1);
• an investigation by an investigator who will prepare a detailed report and findings (Stage 2). The Council then issues an adjudication letter which sets out its response to the findings; and, if the person making the complaint asks;
• an independent panel to consider their representations (Stage 3).
12. Statutory guidance provides details of what may form the subject of a complaint under this procedure. This includes all council functions within Part 3 of the Children Act 1989, which sets out the services councils must provide for children and their families in their area. The guidance says a complaint may arise because of many things such as:
• an unwelcome or disputed decision;
• delay in decision making or provision of services;
• delivery or non-delivery of services including complaints procedures;
• application of eligibility and assessment criteria;
• the impact on a child or young person of the application of a local authority policy; and
• assessment, care management and review.

What happened

13. Ms X was the foster parent for a young person, M, who was about to turn 18. Ms X and M wanted a staying put arrangement. The Council agreed to this and confirmed the financial support it would provide Ms X in July 2022.
14. Ms X complained to the Council in November 2022. She said the Council had not provided her with the agreed financial support, its communication about the matter was confusing and it had not responded to her complaints.
15. The Council responded to Ms X. It said it had mis-informed her about the staying put payments she would receive, and its communication had been unclear. It apologised for both matters and the frustration and stress that it caused. It directed Ms X to its website page containing the children’s statutory complaint process information if she remained dissatisfied.
16. Ms X remained unhappy and complained to the Council again. The Council considered the complaint at stage two of its corporate procedure in January 2023. It upheld its previous response. It did not direct Ms X to us if she remained dissatisfied.
17. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage three of the children’s statutory complaint procedure. The Council responded and stated it had considered her complaint through the corporate complaints procedure as it related to financial matters not social care practice. It stated it should have directed her to us at the end of the stage two process.
18. Ms X complained to us in January 2023. We asked the Council to consider the matter at stage two of the statutory complaints procedure. The Council declined to do so as it considered the complaint to be about policy rather than practice. It stated it had mistakenly directed Ms X to the children’s statutory complaint procedure at the end of the stage one process.

My findings

19. Ms X was a foster parent of a foster child. Ms X’s complaint to the Council was about the financial support the Council had a duty to provide her with to maintain the staying put arrangement for M. The law is clear the Council should have considered this complaint using the statutory children’s complaints procedure. Not doing so was fault and meant the Council did not handle Ms X’s complaint correctly. This caused Ms X uncertainty about what the outcome of her complaint would have been had the Council considered it properly.

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Agreed action

20. Within one month of the final decision the Council will begin a stage two investigation into Ms X’s complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure and complete this within 65 working days. It will advise her of her right to request a stage 3 review if she remains dissatisfied following this.
21. Within three months of the final decision the Council will review its complaints handling procedures to ensure that:
• final responses under its corporate procedure direct complainants to us if they remain dissatisfied; and
• complaints about children’s services are appropriately investigated under the children’s statutory complaints procedure, in line with the statutory guidance.
22. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

23. I have completed my investigation. I found fault leading to injustice and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman