The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mrs X complains the Council delayed investigating her complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. She says the delay has caused frustration and distress. The Council is at fault. It has agreed to complete the stage two investigation within 65 days and pay Mrs X £250 in recognition of the frustration and distress caused by the delay.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council delayed investigating her complaint at stage two of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. She says the delay has caused frustration and distress. She wants the Council to start the stage two investigation without further delay.
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) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended) Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.
How I considered this complaint
I read Mrs X’s complaint and spoke with her about it on the phone.
I considered information provided by the Council.
I considered the actions recently agreed by the Council following a separate investigation by us about similar issues.
Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
The children’s statutory complaints procedure The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
The first stage of the procedure is local resolution. Councils have up to 20 working days to respond.
If a complainant is not happy with a council’s stage one response, they can ask that it is considered at stage two. At this stage of the procedure, councils appoint an investigator and an independent person who is responsible for overseeing the investigation. Councils have up to 65 working days to complete stage two of the process from the date of request.
If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the stage two investigation, they can ask for a stage three review by an independent panel.
What happened In September 2021 Mrs X complained to the Council about the actions of its children’s services. She said it had made inappropriate contact during 2021 related to children who she had adopted with her husband, but who were no longer in their care. She complained about poor communication and that the Council had misled them about their ongoing responsibilities towards the children after they left their care.
The Council accepted the complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. It provided a stage one response in October 2021. It partially upheld some elements of the complaint and asked Mrs X to contact the Council so they could work together to improve communications.
Mrs X was dissatisfied with the response. In November 2021, she asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two and the Council accepted the request.
By August 2022, the Council had not allocated the complaint to a stage two investigator. It wrote to Mrs X to apologise for the delay but said all its investigators currently had full caseloads. It directed her to us if she was dissatisfied.
Mrs X brought the complaint to us in October 2022.
The Council told us it had still not allocated the complaint to a stage two investigator. It said it was currently reviewing its procedures to ascertain what steps were needed to increase its resources to meet the demand for stage two investigations.
In a recent, separate complaint investigation against this Council, we also found fault for delay in completing a stage two investigation. The Council agreed to our recommendation to review its procedures and provide evidence that it had done this.
Analysis The timescales set out in law and statutory guidance are clear. Councils must complete the stage two investigation within 65 working days of the person making the request. The Council should have completed the stage two investigation by mid-March 2022. The Council has not yet begun the stage two investigation, nearly a year after Mrs X requested this. This is unacceptable delay and is fault.
Although I acknowledge the Council’s comment that it is currently reviewing its procedures, the duty to complete stage two investigations within the statutory timescales remains.
The Council has delayed completing the stage two investigation by eight months. This delay has meant Mrs X’s concerns remain unresolved and has caused her frustration and distress.
Agreed action
Within one month of the final decision, the Council will pay Mrs X £250 in recognition of the frustration and distress caused by the delay.
Within 65 working days of the final decision, the Council will complete its stage two investigation. It should ensure Mrs X is aware she can escalate her complaint to stage three of the procedure if she remains dissatisfied following this.
The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation. I have found fault and the Council has agreed action to remedy the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman