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Bury Metropolitan Borough Council (22 009 666)
Statement Upheld Disabled children 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to provide information about the threshold for a child in need assessment and has not been clear in its decision making about support for her child. Ms X also complains the Council failed to consider her complaint under stage two. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to carry out its duty under the statutory complaints process. The Council has agreed to commission a stage two investigation and pay Ms X a financial remedy in recognition of the distress caused.
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Reading Borough Council (22 002 970)
Statement Upheld Other 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council considered her complaints about child protection matters through the children’s statutory complaint procedure. Ms X said the process was not conducted properly or impartially and did not include evidence she provided. Ms X further complained the Council did not consistently make reasonable adjustments for her disabilities and refused to consider her complaints about the matters. The Council delayed in completing the statutory complaint procedure. It has already taken action to remedy the injustice this caused. There was no fault in the other matters Ms X complained about.
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Trafford Council (21 011 600)
Statement Upheld Other 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr and Mrs X complained about the Council’s handling of their complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. They said the Council upheld the majority of their complaints at stage two but had not offered a suitable remedy. The Council was at fault. The remedy the Council offered for the upheld parts of the complaint was insufficient. During our investigation, it revised its position and has now offered Mr and Mrs X £2500 as a remedy for the injustice caused. This is an appropriate offer and in line with our guidance on remedies. It will now make this offer to Mr and Mrs X.
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Sunderland City Council (22 016 923)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a Subject Access Request. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider the matter.
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Manchester City Council (22 016 145)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council safeguarded his child, Y. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify investigating, nor could we achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
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Hampshire County Council (22 016 274)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s investigation of Mr X complaints. This is because we will not investigate the substantive matters complained of to the Council. These substantive matters are ones where we could not achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking, or Mr X has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use, or where another body is better placed than us to consider them.
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Bracknell Forest Council (21 018 098)
Statement Not upheld Child protection 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs B complains about how the Council dealt with safeguarding issues of members of her family. There was no fault by the Council.
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Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (22 012 830)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the content of the Council’s files relating to the complainant’s family. This is because we would achieve nothing significant by doing so.
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Hertfordshire County Council (22 016 486)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about children services’ actions. There are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.
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London Borough of Islington (22 017 319)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a complaint about the care and contact arrangements of the complainants children. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council in how it dealt with the complaint and the matter is subject to court proceedings.
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Bracknell Forest Council (22 016 167)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Adoption 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to properly investigate Mrs X’s complaint about her adoptive children’s former foster carers. This is because we would be unlikely to provide a different outcome for Mrs X.
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St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 365)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to provide the complainant with appropriate help. This is because investigation would not achieve anything significant.
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London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (22 015 684)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s child protection involvement with her family in the late 1980’s. This is because there is no realistic prospect of us being able to carry out an effective investigation now, 35 years on from the matters complained about.
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Norfolk County Council (22 009 655)
Statement Not upheld Disabled children 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained the Council reduced a package of care which is in place to support her to look after her children, causing her distress. There was no fault by the Council.
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Norfolk County Council (22 006 369)
Statement Not upheld Disabled children 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained the Council reduced a package of care which is in place to support her to look after her children, causing her distress. There was no fault by the Council.
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Surrey County Council (22 008 651)
Statement Upheld Child protection 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr X complained about the actions of the Council during a child protection investigation and assessment. Part of his complaint was upheld during the Council’s statutory complaints procedure. We have not found fault with how the Council considered his complaint. We found no further fault in its handling of the child protection investigation and are satisfied the Council’s remedy was proportionate and in line with our Remedies Guidance.
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Reading Borough Council (21 015 447)
Statement Upheld Other 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr D complains about a Council led child protection assessment concerning his daughter (Child X). He says the assessment report was biased towards him which flawed the process and the Council’s findings. In addition, Mr D says the Council failed to consider concerns he had about Child X’s welfare. We found fault by the Council due to the way it categorised Mr D without evidence and verifying information using available sources. We do not consider this affected the child protection outcome, but the way the assessment was carried out meant Mr D was treated unfavourably. This caused him serious distress and upset. We made recommendations for the Council to remedy the injustice and the Council has agreed to these.
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Trafford Council (22 016 561)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the content of an assessment and a court report written by the Council. The matters complained of are not separable from the conduct of court proceedings.
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Cheshire West & Chester Council (22 016 807)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council’s actions have denied the complainant and his children their right to family life. This is because the key decisions were made in court and do not fall to the Ombudsman to consider.
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Norfolk County Council (22 016 316)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a future reduction in fostering payments to Mrs X. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.
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Bristol City Council (22 016 564)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 24-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delay in the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. This is because investigation could not ascertain the extent of any fault on the Council’s part.
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North East Lincolnshire Council (22 015 986)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the accuracy of Council reports. We could not achieve a significantly different outcome than has already been offered.
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Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 232)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council’s children’s services after a foster placement was ended and a safeguarding referral was received about the complainant. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council, other bodies are better placed to deal with the complaint and the complainant does not have consent to complain on behalf of the children about any injustice they have suffered.
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London Borough of Hounslow (22 013 750)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement with Miss X’s children. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been before the courts, and we could not achieve the outcome Miss X seeks.
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Northumberland County Council (22 015 846)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council’s children’s services. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to suspend its complaint investigation until proceedings have concluded.
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Shropshire Council (22 014 871)
Statement Upheld Other 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council was at fault in delaying its response under the statutory process for complaints about children’s services. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by providing a suitable remedy for the injustice the complainant has been caused.
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Kingston Upon Hull City Council (22 016 963)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Coucnil’s involvement with Mr X’s children. The law prevents us considering matters that have been before the courts.
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Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 317)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Fostering 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about support in fostering and fostering payments before 2020. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise the discretion available to investigate these matters now.
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Bury Metropolitan Borough Council (22 007 792)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 28-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss C complained that after 2020 the Council failed to update her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan following annual reviews. We find the Council at fault for this failure and for a delay in answering her complaint. We consider these faults caused Miss C distress and caused her unnecessary time and trouble. The Council accepts these findings. At the end of this statement, we set out the action it has agreed to take to remedy that injustice and improve its services.
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Sunderland City Council (22 012 549)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that special educational needs provision for the complainants’ children is not being met. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
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Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (22 016 918)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to explain its decision to name a mainstream school in the complainant’s son’s Education Health and Care Plan. This is because she has used her right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and this places the matter outside our jurisdiction.
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Hertfordshire County Council (22 016 294)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 28-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council carried out an assessment of a child’s special educational needs. This is because the outcome of the assessment can be appealed to a tribunal, and it is not possible to assess any injustice caused by delay in completing the assessment until the outcome of any appeal is known.
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Staffordshire County Council (22 011 070)
Statement Upheld School transport 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s refusal to backdate an increase to her personal travel budget (“PTB”), used to take her child to school. Miss X said she struggled financially and suffered distress. We found fault in the Council’s decision making. We recommended the Council provides Miss X with an apology, pays £100 for time and trouble, pays £100 for distress, backdates the increase in her PTB to 12 July 2022 and acts to improve its services.
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Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (22 003 031)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss X complained about a lack of support for her son, Mr Y’s, special educational needs. There was fault in how the Council reviewed Mr Y’s Education Health and Care plan and failed to arrange suitable alternative education after he was permanently excluded from school. The Council agreed to pay an improved financial remedy, review its practices and share learning from this complaint.
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Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (22 006 728)
Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs Y complained about the Council’s delay in issuing her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. We have discontinued our investigation into the complaint. This is because the substantive issues in this complaint have already been investigated, considered and decided by us in a previous complaint.
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Leicestershire County Council (21 017 031)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We upheld some of Mr and Mrs X’s complaints. There was a failure to ensure Mr Y had suitable alternative education when he was too unwell to attend school, a delay in issuing his Education, Health and Care plan following an appeal and a resulting loss of education provision. The Council will apologise, make payments described in this statement and arrange catch-up provision.
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Thurrock Council (22 009 007)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs B says the Council unreasonably refused to pay her son’s personal budget specified in his education, health and care plan despite the fact she provided all the information the Council asked for. The Council did not provide Mrs B with clear information about the evidence required to support any payments and delayed making payments. An apology, payment to Mrs B, drawing up a personal budget agreement and reminder to officers is satisfactory remedy.
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Leicester City Council (22 016 434)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan for her child. She says because of this decision, her child missed out on a year of support. This is because it is out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction as Miss X appealed to the SEND Tribunal and the claimed injustice flows from the substantive matter considered by the Tribunal.
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Hertfordshire County Council (22 016 891)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about fault in the process of an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment. This is because the complainant has the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) against the outcome of the Assessment and it would be reasonable for her to do so.
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Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (22 016 306)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 27-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council’s Children’s Social Care assessment was flawed as it failed to properly consider parental alienation. The assessment was considered as part of court proceedings therefore we have no jurisdiction to investigate.
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St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 947)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the special educational needs provision for the complainant’s daughter. This is because the complainant has used her right of appeal to a tribunal. This means the complaint is outside our jurisdiction.
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Cambridgeshire County Council (22 015 109)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Education Health and Care Plan process. This is because the complainant appealed to a tribunal which places the matter outside our jurisdiction.
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Dorset Council (22 007 818)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss X complained that the Council failed to provide her son with full-time education when his educational setting could no longer offer him a place. Miss X said this meant her son missed education, and caused financial hardship and unnecessary distress. We find the Council at fault, and this caused injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Miss X to reflect the injustice caused.
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Shropshire Council (22 008 609)
Statement Upheld Alternative provision 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs B complained the Council has failed to provide her daughter with any alternative provision since she has been unable to attend school for medical reasons. We find no fault with the Council’s decision not to provide Mrs B’s daughter with alternative provision. However, it was at fault for its communication with Mrs B and its complaints handling. The Council has agreed to our recommendation to apologise to Mrs B for her injustice.
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London Borough of Croydon (22 008 928)
Statement Not upheld Alternative provision 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs Y complained the Council failed to provide her son, who was being educated at home, with alternative provision. We have not found fault by the Council regarding its response to Mrs Y’s request it make alternative provision for her son.
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Somerset County Council (22 011 904)
Statement Upheld School transport 26-Mar-2023
Summary: Miss X complained the Council will not provide transport for her child to attend their chosen preschool. Miss X says the Council has not considered her child’s needs or the individual circumstances when deciding whether to use its discretionary powers. We found fault with the Council for fettering its discretion by failing to log Miss X’s application. The Council agreed to consider Miss X’s discretionary application for travel assistance. The Council also agreed to updates its policy to amend the wording about the Statutory Guidance.
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North Yorkshire County Council (22 016 800)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delay in the complainant’s son’s Education Health and Care Needs Assessment. The complaint is late and there are no grounds to investigate it now.
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Kent County Council (22 017 149)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries School admissions 26-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
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Hertfordshire County Council (22 010 233)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 24-Mar-2023
Summary: The complainant (Ms X) said the Council failed to provide education to her son (Y) who was permanently excluded from his school in line with his Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). She said the Council’s communication with her was unsatisfactory and the Council failed to address her request for Y’s needs re-assessment. We found fault with the Council within all the issues raised in this complaint. We also found fault with the Council for its failure to carry out Annual Reviews of Y’s EHCP. These faults caused Ms X injustice. The Council agreed to apologise, make payments for Ms X, carry out a review of Y’s EHCP and provide us with the details of its monitoring system for Annual Reviews of children who are out of school.
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Bristol City Council (22 006 597)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 24-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to deliver the provision as set out in her son, Mr D’s, Education, Health, and Care Plan. Ms X also said the Council failed to properly consider her direct payment application and failed to communicate properly with her. The Council was at fault for failing to provide Mr D with his entitled provision. This caused Mr D to miss out on his entitled provision and caused Ms X distress, frustration and put her to the time and trouble of complaining. We also find fault with the Council for failing to adhere to its complaint timetable, however we are satisfied the Council has already remedied any injustice. We do not find fault with how the Council considered Ms X’s application or review for direct payments or how it communicated with her. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.
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Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (22 007 670)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 24-Mar-2023
Summary: We found fault by the Council on Mr M’s complaint about its failure to provide his son with suitable alternative education provision following his permanent exclusion in June 2021. It failed to communicate properly with him, show how it assessed his needs when allocating a placement, consider and assess different options, and review provision. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.
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London Borough of Ealing (22 013 646)
Statement Upheld School transport 24-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X says the Council did not properly consider her appeal for school transport assistance. We have found the Council at fault for the way it considered Ms X’s appeal. We have made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.
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Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council (22 015 967)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s conduct when it investigated non-attendance at school. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
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London Borough of Southwark (22 016 010)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with concerns that a child is not receiving the provision detailed in their Education Health and Care plan. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
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Kent County Council (22 015 765)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to hold a separate Child Protection Conference for Miss X and her ex-partner. The Council has already accepted it was at fault and agreed separate review meetings. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
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Surrey County Council (22 010 168)
Statement Upheld Alternative provision 23-Mar-2023
Summary: There was fault by the Council in failing to provide suitable fulltime education when a child was unable to attend school due to medical needs. This caused the child to miss out on education and caused the parent carer unnecessary inconvenience and distress. The Council will apologise and make a payment of £3900 to acknowledge the injustice caused.
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London Borough of Bromley (22 000 414)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Mar-2023
Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to provide outreach support for her son Y, as specified in his EHCP. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. Although the Council did allocate direct payments when there was no agency support in place, we have not been able to substantiate that sufficient support was in place all the time. Further, the Council has not kept clear and accurate records which has contributed to confusion and uncertainty in this complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.
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Northumberland County Council (22 016 234)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate the Council’s alleged removal of a local school from its catchment area by postcode dataset. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions. In addition, Mrs X has not suffered a personal injustice due to this matter.
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Isle of Wight Council (22 016 361)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 23-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the evidence an officer gave a Tribunal. We cannot investigate matters which formed part of a Tribunal.
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Dorset Council (22 003 137)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms B complained the Council did not provide her son with alternative provision when he stopped attending school and delayed issuing his education, health and care plan. Ms B says this led to C being without suitable education provision. The Council was at fault delays securing alternative provision, issuing C’s education and health plan, and securing a suitable education placement. These faults caused C significant injustice as he missed over a year of education. The Council will make a financial payment to remedy this injustice and make service improvements.
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Leicester City Council (22 007 433)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed contacting specialist schools and naming a specialist school for Child A in his Education Health and Care Plan. Ms X said this meant Child A did not have an appropriate setting for the start of the new school year. The Council was at fault for delays between February and April 2022 when it was consulting specialist schools. This meant Child A did not have a school place or the provision in their plan between September and mid-October 2022 which was fault. The Council will apologise and pay Ms X £300 to recognise the injustice caused by the lack of provision.
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North Somerset Council (21 009 063)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr and Mrs Y complain the Council failed to provide suitable educational provision for their son, X. We did not find the Council at fault because Mr and Mrs Y were home educating X. We found the Council failed to correctly carry out an annual review meeting, which caused Mr and Mrs Y an injustice. To remedy this, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr and Mrs Y, make them a payment and carry out a service improvement.
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Norfolk County Council (21 009 566)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Mar-2023
Summary: Mr F complains about the Council’s delay in completing an Education, Health and Care plan for his son. He also complains about a delay finding a special school and poor communications from the Council’s officers. The Ombudsman upholds the complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.
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Reading Borough Council (22 016 270)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council stopping home to school transport for her daughter. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault with the way the Council considered and made its decision.
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Bristol City Council (22 016 420)
Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Mar-2023
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about delays in the Education, Health, and Care needs assessment process. She says the Council delayed in issuing her child’s final EHC plan. This is because an investigation would not lead to a different outcome as the Council has already provided an appropriate remedy.
