Manchester City Council (24 014 246)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council failed to treat the complainant’s concerns as a matter for the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint by offering to respond under the procedure.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complained that the Council had not invited him to attend his son’s Child in Need review meeting and had made a flawed decision to cease the Child in Need plan.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s complaint to the Council concerns matters which fall to be considered under the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. The evidence shows that he raised his concerns with the Council but they were not treated as a complaint.
- If we were to investigate it is likely we would find the Council to be at fault, and that the fault has caused Mr X injustice, in that the failure to treat his concerns as a complaint has denied him the scrutiny to which he is entitled.
Agreed action
- We asked the Council to consider remedying the matter by responding to Mr X’s complaint under Stage 1 of the procedure within one month of the date of this decision, setting out his right to escalate the matter if he is not satisfied.
- To its credit, the Council has agreed to do so. It says it has contacted Mr X in the first instance to confirm whether he still wishes to access the complaint procedure.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the matter early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman