Watchdog says Luton Borough Council caused ‘unnecessary and avoidable distress’ after failing to respond to complaint

Luton Borough Council Town Hall. Picture: Olivia PrestonLuton Borough Council Town Hall. Picture: Olivia Preston
Luton Borough Council Town Hall. Picture: Olivia Preston
A complaint on behalf of two Luton men is to be investigated by the borough council without delay, after it failed to reply to their initial concerns about receiving “appropriate care and education”, according to a local authority watchdog.

A complaint on behalf of two Luton men is to be investigated by the borough council without delay, after it failed to reply to their initial concerns about receiving “appropriate care and education”, according to a local authority watchdog.

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Luton Borough Council was at fault, which caused the two adults “unnecessary and avoidable distress”, said the local government and social care ombudsman.

A complaint was made on their behalf in October 2022, when they were both young people, stating that LBC failed to investigate their complaint through the statutory complaints procedure.

The complaint was brought to the ombudsman in January this year, as there was no response from LBC, by which time they were adults. The ombudsman only investigates late complaints, if there are good reasons.

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“In this case, the council hasn’t investigated the complaint, so the injustice is ongoing,” explained the ombudsman. “There are good reasons why the complaint wasn’t brought to us sooner, so I’m satisfied for us to exercise our discretion and investigate this complaint.

“A three-stage procedure is set out in law for councils to follow when considering complaints about children’s social care services.

“This guidance says when a local authority receives a complaint from a representative acting on behalf of a child or young person, the council should normally confirm where possible that the child or young person is happy for this to happen, and that the complaint reflects his or her views.

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“The ombudsman told the complainant to ask LBC to consider the complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure, which he did. The council told him it wouldn’t accept the complaint because it couldn’t share any of their data with him.

“He told LBC they gave consent for him to represent the complaint on their behalf, and they were now adults. The council suggested that as they were adults, they could make a complaint themselves in their own right.

“The complainant has been involved in their lives for some time. There’s no indication of coercion or that he’s not a suitable person to represent this complaint,” added the ombudsman. “I’ve seen no evidence LBC checked they were happy for this to happen.

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“The guidance says when a council receives a complaint from a representative acting on behalf of a child or young person, it should confirm where possible that the child or young person is happy for this to happen, and that the complaint reflects their views.

“I find the council at fault for not accepting this statutory children’s complaint. They gave their consent for the complainant to act on their behalf. This fault has caused injustice because they haven’t had their complaint heard through the statutory complaints procedure, as they should have done.

“Within two weeks of this decision, the local authority has agreed to arrange to have their complaint progressed through stage two of the statutory complaints procedure. LBC should complete this process without delay. The council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above action.”

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