Summary: Mr Y complains about the actions of the Council when it placed a young person into an emergency foster placement with Mr Y in late 2023. The Council was at fault for failing to consider Mr Y’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This meant Mr Y went to unnecessary time and trouble going through the Council's corporate complaints procedure and then complaining to the Ombudsman. The Council has agreed to complete the remedial actions recommended at the end of this statement.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about the actions of the Council when it placed D into an emergency foster placement with Mr Y in October 2023. Mr Y says the placement failed because the Council did not provide the necessary support.
2. Mr Y says the failures caused significant distress to him and his family.

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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 an injustice, 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. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered:
• all the information Mr Y provided and discussed the complaint with him;
• the Council’s responses to the complaint; and
• the relevant law and guidance and the Ombudsman's guidance on remedies.
7. Mr Y and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making this final decision.

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What I found

Looked after children

8. Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 says councils have a duty to provide accommodation for any child in need in their area who appears to them to need accommodation because:
• there is no-one who has parental responsibility for the child;
• the child is lost or abandoned; or
• the person who has been caring for the child is prevented, whether permanently or temporarily and for whatever reason, from providing suitable accommodation or care.
9. Councils can provide the accommodation directly or arrange for accommodation to be provided (for example through a fostering arrangement). A child accommodated in this way is a ‘Looked After Child’ (LAC). A child who is in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation for more than 24 hours is referred to as a LAC.
10. Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 says a council has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all looked after children it is responsible for. The duty includes a requirement to, “promote the child’s educational development”.

The statutory children’s complaints procedure

11. Complaints about some issues relating to children must be responded to using the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The procedure was set up to give children and those representing them an opportunity for a thorough independent investigation of their concerns.
12. The statutory procedure has three stages:
• Stage 1 is local resolution by the council.
• Stage 2 is an investigation by an investigating officer (IO) who will prepare a detailed report and findings. The investigation is overseen by an independent person (IP) to ensure its impartiality. The council then issues an adjudication letter which sets out its response to the findings.
• Stage 3 is a review panel with an independent chair to consider their outstanding issues.
13. The law sets out what issues must be considered using the statutory complaints procedure. This includes how councils meet the duties set out in Part 3 of the Children Act 1989. Section 20 and 22 also come under Part 3.

Brief chronology of key events relevant to this decision

14. In 2023 Mr Y provided an emergency foster placement for a young person (D) after D’s family were no longer able to care for them. D is now a LAC under the care of the Council.
15. Shortly after D moved into the placement, Mr Y made a complaint to the Council about his experiences as well as the impact on D and Mr Y’s other children. The complaint is extensive and I will not revisit all the points here.
16. Amongst other things, Mr Y raised concerns about the lack of support given by the Council to ensure that D had everything they needed and was appropriately accommodated. One of the issues Mr Y raised was the lack of space in his home for D to have their own bedroom.
17. Mr Y told the Council he was prepared to accommodate D for a “transition period” before deciding whether providing a long-term placement would be in the best interests of the family.
18. Mr Y also complained about inappropriate comments made by a social worker during a home visit for a connected carers assessment.
19. The Council responded to Mr Y’s complaint through both stages of its corporate complaints procedure. It did not uphold the complaint but apologised for Mr Y not having a positive experience with the fostering service and agreed “… that learning is taken forward as a result of your complaint…”.
20. Mr Y remained dissatisfied with the Council's response to his complaints and complained to the Ombudsman.

Findings

21. Councils should use the children’s statutory complaints procedure for complaints about actions they take to meet their duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989. This includes Section 22 (3A); the Council's duty to promote the educational development of a Looked After Child.
22. In our view, the Council’s failure to respond to Mr Y’s complaint using the children’s statutory complaints procedure was fault. As a foster carer he met the criteria of someone “who may complain” as per the statutory guidance: Getting the Best from Complaints In my view, the content of Mr Y’s complaint also meets the criteria of “what may be complained about” because he raises concerns about:
• an unwelcome or disputed decision;
• delivery or non-delivery of services; and
• attitude or behaviour of staff.
23. The Council also refused to investigate complaints relating to D’s education because it said those matters “… fall outside of the remit of the Children’s Social care complaints process”. In our view, complaints about the educational achievement of LAC should also be considered under the statutory procedure.
24. The statutory procedure provides an important, independent, route of redress for vulnerable children, young people and those acting on their behalf. The fault meant Mr Y had to go through the wrong complaints procedure and complain to the Ombudsman unnecessarily.

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Agreed action

25. Within one month of the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• apologise to Mr Y for the time and trouble he went to when pursuing his complaint through the corporate complaints procedure needlessly. We publish Guidance on Remedies which sets out our expectations for how councils should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended;
• make a symbolic payment of £150 for the avoidable delay, time and trouble experienced by Mr Y for the failure to deal with his complaint properly. Mr Y has made clear to the Ombudsman that he does not seek financial redress and so it will be a matter for him to decide whether to accept the payment; and
• commission a stage two investigation into Mr Y’s complaint immediately. The investigation should complete within 65 working days of the date of my final decision.
26. Within three months of the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• remind relevant staff of the statutory guidance ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’ particularly around ‘who may complain’ and ‘what may be complained about’. The Council should also draw attention to the Ombudsman’s practitioner’s guidance. The Council should remind staff via training, or a briefing paper, a copy of which can be shared with the Ombudsman; and
• remind relevant staff that Section 22 (3A) of the Children Act 1989 means complaints about the education of a Looked After Child should be considered using the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The Council should remind staff via training, or a briefing paper, a copy of which can be shared with the Ombudsman.
27. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

28. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault causing injustice. The actions listed above will provide an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman