Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council has dealt with Mrs X’s grandchildren since they have been placed in care. We could not add to the Council’s response or make a different finding of the kind Mrs X wants.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the way the Council has dealt with her grandchildren, who have been placed into care. Mrs X says the children have been placed separately and out of the area, which has made having contact and family time very difficult for their father (Mr Y), Mrs X’s son. Mrs X says there have been mistakes, inconsistencies and failures to complete reviews when promised which has impacted on with her grandchildren.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X’s grandchildren have been placed in care. Mrs X has previous supervised her son’s contact with his children in the community. In May and June 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council about how it was dealing with her grandchildren’s’ case and the impact this was having on her and her son. Mrs X said issues with contact arrangements were causing distress for everyone involved.
7. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaints. It explained it could not provide detailed information to her about her grandchildren as she does not have parental responsibility for them or consent from her son to act on his behalf. The Council has also explained it will be discussing contact with Mr Y in detail.
8. We could not add to the Council’s explanations to Mrs X as we are also limited in the information we could provide to her about her grandchildren. We could not achieve the outcome Mrs X wants for a full review of her grandchildren’s case in these circumstances.
9. It remains open for Mrs X to obtain consent to act for her son and to make a further complaint to the Council on his behalf. Mrs X would then be able to bring her concerns to us if she remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation would not add to the Council’s responses, nor would it achieve the outcomes Mrs X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman