West Sussex County Council (24 018 419)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint about delay in responding to her stage two complaint under the children statutory complaints procedure. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council delayed in responding to her stage two complaint under the children statutory complaints procedure.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing Mrs X injustice. This is because the Council should have completed stage two by January 2025. However, the Council only issued its stage two adjudication response in March 2025. This is a delay of two months.
- We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by completing the following:
- Apologise to Mrs X for the delay in responding to her stage two complaint.
- Make a payment of £50 per month to recognise the frustration caused by the delay. A total of £100.
Agred action
- The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman