The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has delayed to a complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complained to the Council about the involvement of its children’s services with her and her family during 2014 and 2015, which resulted in her brother being taken into care. Miss X’s advocate asked us to investigate after the Council failed to respond to Miss X’s complaint.
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 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant’s representative and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X raised a complaint with the Council in December 2021.The complaint was allocated to an investigator to consider under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. The Investigator decided that, due to the amount of time that has passed since the events Miss X complained about, it was important to speak to the social worker, but the social worker in question has been on long term leave.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council could not proceed with its investigation until the families social worker had returned from leave. The social worker has now returned, and the Council’s investigation has recommenced. Records show Miss X has provided the Council with further information in support of her complaint which the investigator is considering and the Council expects to issue its response shortly. Given these exceptional circumstances I do not find fault by the council for its delay in responding to Miss X’s complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mis X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman