Summary: Mrs Y complained about the residential placements the Council arranged for Z, as a young person in its care. We have ended our investigation of the complaint because: we cannot add to the previous investigation by the Council under the statutory children’s complaints procedure or achieve the outcome Mrs Y wants; and there are other bodies better placed to consider her concerns.

The complaint

1. Z is a young person in the Council’s care. Mrs Y complains, on their behalf, about the residential placements the Council arranged for Z over a number of years. Mrs Y says the placements were unsuitable for Z because of the:

• lack of safeguarding;
• inadequate standard and quality of care;
• use of staff without the required training and experience; and
• lack of proper monitoring and checking.

2. As a result of this, Z was moved frequently between unsuitable placements, without the appropriate care, support and education they needed, or any proper plan for their long-term placement. This exacerbated the trauma Z suffered during their early years.
3. Mrs Y wants those responsible to be held accountable for these failings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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. We call this ‘injustice’.
5. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
6. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants; or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

7. 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

8. I considered evidence provided by Mrs Y and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mrs Y and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

Background

10. The Council took Z into care following a court order. Z experienced extreme trauma during their early years and is now a young person with very complex needs.
11. After some years living with another family member, the Council arranged a respite residential placement for Z. After this, the Council tried to find a suitable long-term therapeutic placement for Z. It was unable to find a suitable long-term option and since then Z has moved frequently between placements.
12. Mrs Y complained to the Council about its failure to provide Z with a suitable long-term placement. The Council investigated the complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure.

The statutory children’s complaints procedure

13. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services.
14. The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
15. If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigating officer (IO) to look into the complaint and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation and ensuring its independence.
16. Following the investigation, a senior manager at the council should carry out an adjudication. They should consider the IO report, decide what the council’s response to the complaint will be, including what action it will take, and write to the complainant with a copy of the investigation report, any report from the independent person and the adjudication response.
17. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel.

The Investigating Officer’s Report

18. The Investigating Officer (IO) investigated Mrs Y’s complaint and issued their report. They upheld four of Mrs Y’s five complaint points. Their findings on the following complaint issues were:
1. the frequent moves and number of placements

Finding: The Council recognised the unwelcome nature of constant moves and had made a huge effort to find placements for Z. But, as Z’s corporate parent, it had failed to provide them with consistency and certainty.

2. Z’s concern to know where they would be living and receiving education

Finding: The Council’s failure to arrange a suitable long-term placement for Z was a destabilising factor.

3. the failure to provide Z with a consistent education.

Finding: Z had been unable to attend school because of moving so many times. But there was little the Council could have done about this without being able to identify a long-term residential placement for Z able to meet all their complex needs.

4. the poor care provided in placements

Finding: The competence of staff in some placements was questionable and they did not have the skills to meet Z’s needs.

19. The IO said in summary, it was extremely difficult to source the therapeutic placement Z needed due to national insufficiency. But the complaints against the Council were upheld because it had corporate parenting responsibility for Z. The IO made recommendations about the actions the Council’s social work team should take when looking for a new placement for Z.
20. Mrs Y asked for a review of the IO’s investigation by an independent panel. Mrs Y told the panel she was not challenging the IO’s investigation, but it had not resolved the issues she was concerned about. With the Council and Mrs Y’s agreement the panel then made a further recommendation the Council should set out the details of the long-term plan for Z, including how a placement would be supported to meet Z’s needs and how the plan would be quality assured and monitored.
21. Following the panel hearing the Council wrote to Mrs Y confirming its plan for Z.

My view – should we investigate this complaint?

22. Following the outcome of the IO investigation, the focus of Mrs Y’s complaint now is the lack of safeguarding, inadequate care and support, and use of staff without the required training and experience at Z’s residential placements. She also complains these placements are not properly monitored and checked.
23. I understand Mrs Y’s concern about the accountability for these failings at Z’s placements. But my view is that we should not investigate the complaint further because:
1. we could not achieve any further meaningful outcome over and above the IO’s findings in their investigation and report:

• the statutory children’s complaints procedure was set up to provide children, young people and those involved in their welfare with access to an independent, thorough and prompt response to their concerns. Because of this, if a council has investigated something under the statutory children’s complaint process, we would not normally re-investigate it; and
• based on what I’ve seen, the IO carried out a thorough investigation into Mrs Y’s concerns about the suitability of Z’s placements and frequent moves, and upheld all but one of Mrs Y’s complaints about the Council.
2. we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs Y wants:
• we are not able to take any direct action regarding the failings identified with placements or their staff; and
• we cannot address the Council’s difficulty in finding a suitable long-term placement for Z. The IO identified the national lack of suitable residential care placements for children and young people as the reason for this.
3. there are other bodies or better placed to consider Mrs Y’s complaint:
• specific concerns about the actions, training or experience of staff at Z’s placements may be referred to their professional bodies; and
• Ofsted, with whom we will share this decision, are responsible for inspecting and regulating services that care for children and young people.

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Decision

24. For the reasons explained above, I have ended my investigation of Mrs Y’s complaint about the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman