Ealing Council failed a mother and her baby when it denied her the right to complain after placing them in accommodation with a lack of heating and hot water. The council later upheld all four of the mother’s complaints and provided her with a written apology.
The woman, referred to as Miss X in the report, had an Interim Care Order granted for her child after giving birth. This meant that parental responsibility was shared between Miss X and Ealing Council while a court investigated ongoing welfare concerns.
Complaints about foster placement
Miss X and her child were placed in a specialist unit and subsequently moved into a mother-and-baby foster placement. During this time, she complained to the council about the foster placement, alleging that there was a lack of hot water and heating.
She also complained about alleged religious discrimination which prevented her from travelling due to racial profiling. She said that the council failed to properly investigate her concerns.
Ealing Council eventually investigated her complaint and partially upheld it. Unhappy with the result, the mother asked for a Stage 2 investigation. The council upheld all four of her complaints and provided Miss X a written apology.
Compensation and ombudsman ruling
The council also agreed to five recommendations and agreed to provide additional training to staff. During the complaints process, Miss X requested financial compensation for “the emotional distress, inconvenience and hardship suffered and the disruption and loss caused by denied travel plans”. The council agreed to pay 10 per cent of what she had requested.
Later, the council offered to increase the compensation, but Miss X pushed for a Stage 3 complaints panel to review this – the council refused. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ruled that this was a fault on the part of Ealing Council.
Once a council has accepted a complaint under the statutory procedure, the complainant has a right to pursue it through all three stages. Ealing Council denied Miss X this right.
Watchdog recommendations
The local government watchdog asked the council to hold a Stage 3 Panel and complete the statutory process without delay. It also called on Ealing Council to make an additional symbolic payment to Miss X in recognition of the stress and uncertainty caused by not accepting her request to escalate her complaint to Stage 3 of the statutory complaints process.
The ombudsman also asked the local authority to provide guidance and training to relevant staff. Ealing Council agreed to all of the recommendations. Ealing Council have been contacted for comment.
