The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delays in the Council considering her complaint under the statutory children complaints procedure. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X by the likely fault.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council delayed in considering her complaint under the statutory children 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 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future 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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In December 2022, we issued a decision which noted we were likely to find fault with the Council for failing to consider Mrs X’s complaint under the statutory children complaints procedure. We recommended the Council start its consideration under the procedure.
The Council issued its stage two report in February 2024. Mrs X requested the Council proceed to stage three in March 2024.
If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant an injustice as there has been delay in the Council considering Mrs X’s complaint at stage two and three.
For stage two, the complaint was agreed with the independent investigator in September 2023. There is a maximum timescale of 65 working days (13 weeks) for stage two to be completed. The stage two report was not issued until February 2024 (20 weeks). Therefore, there was a delay of seven weeks.
For stage three, Mrs X requested the Council proceed to stage three in March 2024. The Council should have held the panel by the end of April 2024. The Council accepted there has been a delay in arranging the panel and it is likely the panel review will not be held until July 2024. Therefore, this is a delay of around three months.
We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by the delay by apologising for the delay and making a financial payment of £50 for each month of delay. I note that seven weeks is just under two months, so I have rounded the payment up. The total to pay is £250.
The Council will also hold the panel review hearing within four weeks of the final decision.
Agreed action
To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman