Summary: Mr X complained on behalf of Mr O and Mr P that the Council failed to investigate their complaint through the statutory complaints procedure. Mr X said the Council has failed to provide answers to their complaints, and it has caused unnecessary and avoidable distress. We find the Council at fault, and this caused injustice. The Council has agreed to investigate Mr O and Mr P’s complaint through the statutory complaints procedure without delay.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained on behalf of Mr O and Mr P that the Council failed to investigate their complaint through the statutory complaints procedure. Mr O and Mr P want to complain that the Council failed to provide them appropriate care and education.
2. Mr X said the impact on Mr O and Mr P of not having their complaint investigated means the Council has failed to provide answers to their complaints. He said this has caused unnecessary and avoidable distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
7. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
8. 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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What I have and have not investigated

9. Mr X complained to the Council on behalf of Mr O and Mr P in October 2022. Mr X brought the complaint to the Ombudsman in January 2024, having had no reply to the complaint.
10. As I have said above, we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. In this case, the Council has not investigated this complaint so the injustice to Mr O and Mr P is ongoing. Mr X has given good reasons for why he did not bring the complaint to us before January 2024. I am therefore satisfied there are good reasons for us to exercise our discretion and investigate this complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

11. Mr O and Mr P have given written consent for Mr X to represent this complaint on their behalf. I therefore consider Mr X is a suitable person to represent this complaint on their behalf.
12. I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X and the Council. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments and further information received before I reached a final decision.
13. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below. I also considered the Ombudsman’s published guidance on remedies.

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What I found

What should have happened

14. 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. We also published practitioner guidance on the procedures, setting out our expectations.
15. The guidance says councils must consider complaints made on behalf of children or young people. It lists who may complain using the statutory procedure. The guidance says councils must consider complaints made on behalf of children or young people by someone “the local authority consider[s] has sufficient interest in the child or young person’s welfare to warrant his representations being considered by [the local authority].”
16. The guidance says when a council receives a complaint from a representative acting on behalf of a child or young person, the council should normally confirm where possible that the child or young person is happy for this to happen, and that the complaint reflects their views.

What happened

17. In October 2022, Mr X complained to the Council on behalf of Mr O and Mr P, who were then children.
18. In early 2024, Mr O and Mr P turned 18.
19. At about the same time, Mr X brought Mr O and Mr P’s complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman advised Mr X to ask the Council to consider Mr O and Mr P’s complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. Mr X did this.
20. The Council told Mr X it would not accept Mr O and Mr P’s complaint because it could not give Mr X any details about the complaint. This was because it could not share any of Mr O or Mr P’s data with Mr X.
21. Mr X told the Council Mr O and Mr P had given consent for him to represent the complaint on their behalf, and they were now adults. The Council said as Mr O and Mr P were now adults, they could make a complaint themselves, in their own right.

Analysis

22. The guidance is clear that councils must consider complaints when made by certain people on behalf of children or young people. This includes people who councils consider have sufficient interest in the child or young person’s welfare.
23. Mr X has been involved in Mr O and Mr P’s lives for some time. Mr O and Mr P are adults and have made a decision about who they want to represent their complaint. They have given their consent for Mr X to act on their behalf, as they have with this complaint to the Ombudsman. There is no indication of coercion or that Mr X is not a suitable person to represent this complaint.
24. The guidance says when a council receives a complaint from a representative acting on behalf of a child or young person, the council should normally confirm where possible that the child or young person is happy for this to happen, and that the complaint reflects their views. I have seen no evidence the Council has done this.
25. I find the Council at fault for not accepting this statutory children’s complaint. Mr O and Mr P have given their consent for Mr X to act on their behalf.
26. This fault has caused injustice because Mr O and Mr P have not had their complaint heard through the statutory complaints procedure as they should have done.

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Agreed action

27. Within two weeks of this decision, the Council has agreed to arrange to have Mr O and Mr P’s complaint progressed through stage two of the statutory complaints procedure. The Council should complete this process without delay.
28. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above action.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation and I find the Council at fault. This caused injustice. The Council has agreed to progress Mr O and Mr P’s complaint through the statutory complaints procedure without delay.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman