Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the children social services’ handling of her case. She says the Council did not investigate her case appropriately, she received no support from the service, and that the reports and assessments completed by the social workers were inaccurate. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about children social services’ handling of her case. She says:
• The Council did not investigate her case appropriately.
• She received no support from children social services.
• The reports/assessments completed by the social workers were inaccurate as they frame her as an abuser, rather than a victim of domestic abuse.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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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. If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing an injustice. This is because the Council has delayed in responding to Ms X’s complaint under stage two of the statutory children’s complaint procedure.
6. Ms X responded to the Council’s stage one complaint response in July 2024. In her email, Ms X details her unhappiness with the Council’s complaint response and her concerns. She also clearly asked the Council to bring the case forward. I am satisfied this email should have been taken as Ms X’s request to escalate to stage two of the complaints process.
7. Further, while it is not clear if the Council had responded at stage one of the statutory children’s complaints process, it appears this complaint would fall under this process. This is because it appears the case was dealt with under child in need, rather than child protection.
8. We therefore asked the Council to remedy this by completing the following:
• Apologise to Ms X for the delay in dealing with her request for her complaint to be escalated to stage two.
• Progress the complaint to stage two of the statutory children’s complaint procedure and appoint an independent investigator and independent person within four weeks of the final decision.
• Make a payment of £50 for each month the Council delayed in dealing with the stage two complaint. A total of £300.

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Agreed action

9. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman