Summary: I uphold this complaint that the Council denied the complainant the opportunity to escalate her complaint about its care of her child while looked after by the Council. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by offering the complainant the opportunity to escalate her complaint to Stage 2 of the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council has refused to escalate her complaint about the care of her child while looked after by the Council.

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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 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)
3. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council about various matters relating to child protection action and the care of her children while they were looked after by the Council. She was not satisfied with the Council’s response. Specifically, she did not accept that the Council properly considered her allegation that her daughter had been injured while in foster care.
7. Mrs X asked to escalate this matter to the next stage of the complaint procedure. The Council declined to do so unless she provided evidence to support her allegation.
8. If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing Mrs X injustice. Her complaint about the injury her daughter allegedly suffered constitutes a complaint about the care of a looked-after child and therefore falls to be considered under the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. Refusing access to the procedure denies Mrs X the opportunity to have the matter scrutinised and resolved.

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Agreed action

9. We invited the Council to resolve the complaint by, within one month of the date of this decision, inviting Mrs X to escalate her complaint to Stage 2 of the statutory procedure, and initiating the process by appointing an investigating officer and an independent person. To its credit, the Council has agreed to do so.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman