Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about support provided to his child by the Council’s children’s services and how it has communicated with him. We could not add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council’s children’s services has not adequately supported his family. He says the matter has caused distress. He also complains of poor communication. He wants the Council to support his child and answer his questions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X and his child, Y, have been involved with the Council’s children’s services for several years. In January 2024 he complained the Council was not providing sufficient support for his child and was refusing to communicate with him.
6. In its complaint response, the Council summarised its recent involvement with Y and the family. It set out the actions and support it had provided under its child protection procedures and through legal proceedings.
7. It acknowledged there had been some poor communication. It explained the reasons for this and actions it had taken to improve its communications. It also acknowledged his concerns about the accuracy of the Council’s records relating to Council visits and the reasons why these did not take place. It explained what action it had taken to ensure records were accurate going forward. It apologised for the areas where it could have worked more effectively.
8. It set out how it had recently communicated with him and invited him to meetings. It explained the Council’s current involvement with Y was under a Child in Need plan and clarified contact details for Y’s social worker.
9. We will not investigate this complaint as we could not add to the Council’s investigation. The Council has explained the support provided for Y both through its child protection procedures and more recently under a Child in Need plan. Mr X was invited to these meetings and had the opportunity to share his views as part of these processes.
10. The Council has acknowledged there has been some poor communication but apologised to him for this and acted to improve its service going forward. These are appropriate actions to remedy any frustration and distress caused by this. It is unlikely an investigation by us would reach a different outcome or achieve anything more.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not add to the investigation previously completed by the Council and it is unlikely an investigation would achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman