Complete suspension of LGO complaints process is wrong

The announcement stopped all casework activity that demands information from, or action by, local authorities and care providers to “protect” their capacity to deliver vital frontline services during the pandemic and cases currently in progress will be “frozen for the time being”.

While there is of course a real need to alleviate pressure on local authorities at this unprecedented time, the potential impact of this decision on children and young people in the care system is of great concern. The Ombudsman, Michael King, stated that “we still expect local authorities and care providers to respond appropriately to any complaints they receive during this time” but admitted that “this may look different to their normal arrangements”.

In fact, those working with these children are already seeing examples of the complaints procedure being weakened at a local level.

The Coronavirus Act provides local authorities with specific ‘easements’ on their Care Act duties, so they can prioritise “the most pressing needs” if they become overwhelmed. However, no comparable changes were made to the legal framework for the Children Act 1989 statutory complaints procedure. Yet, some local authorities are redrafting their complaints processes and considering which cases might be prioritised.

This confusion about duties has not been helped by recent Department for Education guidance incorrectly suggesting that local authorities can simply not comply with their statutory duties, providing it records the reasons for doing so.

Last year, the LGO made decisions in 1,732 complaints about education and children’s services and 66 per cent of these were upheld. These decisions can make a huge difference both to individuals and to those affected by the issues investigated who did not complain themselves. This was the case, for example, with the LGO’s finding that Cornwall County Council had repeatedly provided inappropriate accommodation for a young person who it had housed in a tent and static caravan. Its recommendations included a review of the council’s procedures for accommodating young people and pushed the council to invest significant funds in accommodation suitable for housing young people.

Introducing a triage-based system, where at least the most serious cases would be considered for investigation, would have ensured a safeguard remained for the most vulnerable children. It is important to remember that the Children Act 1989 complaints procedure can also prevent further damage being done by, for instance, ensuring that a decision to move a child in care is frozen whilst the complaint is being investigated.

At the very least, the LGO could have taken the same action as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, with which it investigates jointly where they share jurisdiction, in keeping its helpline open. Instead, this was suspended on 18 March.

On social media the LGO has stated that it will “be closely observing what happens and if we sense significant levels of injustice arising, we can and will re-engage at any point” but how will this be possible without a functioning complaints handling process? It will fall to already stretched practitioners to raise concerns. Article 39 will be monitoring the impact of this decision, as well as how statutory complaints procedures are working at a local level, through our advocates network.

In these challenging times, it is all the more important that vulnerable children and young people can still fall back on established mechanisms to protect their rights.

Kamena Dorling, head of policy and advocacy, Article 39