Summary: We find fault with the Council for failing to investigate Mr B’s complaint using the statutory complaint process. This denied Mr B the opportunity for an independent investigation. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains about the Councils decision to reopen its case and reassess his family. He also complains about the way the assessment was conducted.
2. He says this caused him distress and resulted in his ex-partner stopping access to his children.

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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 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)
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 considered the information from Mr B and the Council along with the relevant law and guidance.
7. Mr B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I carefully considered all the comments I received.

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What I found

Law and guidance

Statutory complaints procedure

8. 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.
9. The handling and consideration of complaints consists of three stages:
• Stage 1 - local resolution
• Stage 2 – investigation
• Stage 3 - review panel
10. A complaint may arise about statutory social services functions, including:
• an unwelcome or disputed decision;
• concern about the quality or appropriateness of a service;
• delay in decision making or provision of services;
• delivery or non-delivery of services including complaints procedures;
• quantity, frequency, change or cost of a service;
• attitude or behaviour of staff;
• 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.
11. At stage two of the procedure, councils appoint an investigating officer (IO) and an independent person (IP) who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. 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.
12. The Ombudsman would normally expect a council and complainant to follow the full complaints procedure. The guidance sets out the circumstances in which a complaint can be referred to the Ombudsman without completing all three stages. This can only happen when the stage two investigation is robust with all complaints upheld. Councils must show they agree to meet most of the complainant’s desired outcomes and have a clear action plan for delivery.
13. In the Ombudsman focus report ‘Are we getting the best from children’s social care complaints?’ (2015) we found a common problem was councils refusing to allow complaints to go through all stages of the statutory complaint’s procedure.

What happened

14. The Council carried out a Child and Family (CAF) assessment of Mr B’s family in 2019. It decided not to take any further action and closed the case.
15. In March 2020 it carried out an internal audit and identified concerns about some of the decisions it made from the CAF assessment in 2019. It requested a reassessment of Mr B’s family.
16. In April 2020 Mr B complained to the Council about the decision to reassess the family and the way he was contacted about the assessment. The Council responded and explained the audit process and the concerns it raised.
17. Mr B remained unhappy. He said he had been excluded from the assessment process. He also said he was concerned about information the Council had about him in its files. Mr B said the Councils actions meant his ex-partner stopped him having contact with his children. The Council told Mr B he should submit a request to access his files. It said the matter of contact with his children was not a decision the Council made, and he should seek legal advice.
18. Mr B remained unhappy with the Councils response and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

19. Mr B’s complaint issues stem from the decisions and actions of the Council from its assessment process.
20. Mr B’s complaint falls within the functions set out in paragraph ten above and should have been considered as a statutory complaint.
21. By failing to consider Mr B’s complaint using the statutory complaints procedure the Council denied Mr B an independent investigation into his complaint. This is fault. It also caused him additional time and trouble pursuing his complaint with the Ombudsman

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Agreed action

22. Within one month of my final decision the Council agrees to:
• Pay Mr B £100 for his time and trouble pursuing his complaint.
• Appoint an Investigating Officer and Independent Person to investigate Mr B’s complaint at stage two of the statutory complaint procedure.
23. Within two months of my decision the Council agrees to remind staff dealing with statutory complaints of:
• Which complaints should be considered through the statutory procedure, and the limited circumstances in which the Council is not required to investigate a complaint, or can refer a complaint early to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

24. I find fault causing injustice. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice it caused Mr B.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

25. I did not investigate the substantive issues listed in paragraph 1. Once Mr B’s complaint has completed the statutory complaints procedure, he can ask the us to consider the substantive complaint if he remains dissatisfied.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman