Representation and Complaints Procedure

1. Representations and Complaints - Definitions and Overview

This procedure is for children and young people, or adults acting in behalf of a child who make a representation, which may be a complaint. It also covers representations which are not complaints. For example, children and young people should be able to put forward representations for a change to be made in the service they receive, or the establishment they live in, without this having to be classed as a complaint.

Please see Children's Social Care: Getting the Best from Complaints Guidance, DfE (GOV.UK).

Click here to view Flowchart / summary for Children Act 1989 Complaints.

A complaint may be generally defined as 'An expression of dissatisfaction or disquiet in relation to an individual child or young person, which requires a response'. It may be brought about by one or more of the following:

An unwelcome or disputed decision;
Concern about the quality or appropriateness of a service;
Delay in decision making or provision of services;
Delivery or non-delivery of services;
Quantity, frequency or charge for a service;
Attitude or behaviour of staff;
Application of eligibility and assessment criteria;
The impact on an individual of the application of a local authority policy;
Assessment, care management and review.

Additional areas of service about which complaints may be made are:

The decision by the local authority to initiate care and Supervision Orders under Section 31;
The effect of the Care Order and the local authority's actions and decisions where a care order is made;
Parental contact with children in care (Section 34);
How supervisors perform their duty when a Supervision Order is in force (Section 35);
Matters that do not relate to the court and which are specifically actions of the local authority can be considered, regarding applications for and duties in relation to child assessment orders (Section 43);
Matters covered by subsections 10 and 11 that relate to local authorities and local authority's use of discretionary powers, where applications for and duties in relation to emergency protection orders (Section 44); and
The local authority's duty to investigate under Section 47. The Complaints Manager will consider complaints about Section 47 Enquiries on an individual basis. The Enquiry itself is not open to scrutiny.

This will mean that complaints may be investigated while Child Care Proceedings are in progress, if the concerns raised are not intrinsically linked to the court proceedings. Discussions between the Team Manager and Group Manager, their legal representative and the Children's Complaints Manager will take place to determine what can and will be investigated. However the principle that the Court is the arena for the final ratification of a Child's Plan through a possible making of an order remains firm. Would-be complainants will continue to be advised that the Court is the only setting where a judgment may be challenged.

2. Who is Eligible to Complain

Those who are eligible to complain are:

The child;
A parent of aforementioned child;
Any person who is not a parent of aforementioned child but who has Parental Responsibility for them;
Any local authority foster carer (including those caring for children placed through independent fostering agencies);
Such other person as the authority considers has a sufficient interest in the child's welfare to warrant their representations being considered by them;
Children leaving care;
Special Guardians;
Any other person whom arrangements for the provision of adoption services extend; and
Such other person as the local authority consider has sufficient interest in a child who is or may be adopted to warrant their representations being considered by them.

Also any persons mentioned in Section 3(1) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 may complain about the discharge by the authority of such functions under this Act as are specified in regulations. Such persons include:

Children who may be adopted, their parents and guardians;
Persons wishing to adopt a child; and
Adopted persons, their parents, natural parents and former guardians.

The role of Special Guardians is set out in the Special Guardianship Regulations which came into force on 30th December 2005.

The following functions of a Special Guardian may be the subject of a complaint:

Financial support;
Support groups for children;
Assistance in relation to contact;
Provision of therapy;
Assistance in promoting the relationship between the child and the special guardian (or prospective special guardian).

3. What is NOT a Complaint

The complaints procedure does not apply when:

The person wishing to complain does not meet the requirements of "Who can make a Complaint" and is not acting on behalf of such an individual;
The complaint is solely in regard to actions and decisions of another local authority department, agency or body (e.g. Police, Court decisions);
Child Protection Conferences. If a complainant wishes to complain about a Child Protection Conference they should be given a copy of the Hull Safeguarding Children's Partnership leaflet "A Guide for Parents, Carers and Young People About Making a Complaint Concerning a Child Protection Conference";
Matters should be dealt with under other proceedings such as:
- Disciplinary proceedings;
- Grievance procedure;
- Data protection issues
- Complaints from staff about personnel issues;
- Services for which an alternative statutory appeals process already exists;
- Criminal investigation where Court action is pending;
- Where the same complaint has already been made and has been dealt with at all stages of the procedure.
Decisions made by Approved Social Workers. These may not be the subject of the complaints procedure, as there is an appeal process in place. For further information contact the Principal Manager (Mental Health).

Out of time:

The Local Authority has the right to refuse to investigate a complaint if more than one year has passed since the alleged issue occurred. In practice Hull Children and Family Services may be willing to look at complaints that predate the one year threshold, especially in circumstances where young people themselves are the complainants. The decision to disqualify a historic complaint can be made only by the Children's Complaints Manager; workers in other teams who find themselves receiving an historic complaint must discuss this with the Children's Complaints Manager, who may in turn seek further advice and will record the decision about the future of the complaint. There may be better avenues in which to steer historic complainants, such as the legal arena.

4. Responding to a Complaint during Proceedings

Introduction

The circumstances about which there is a complaint may also be part of the case in Court Proceedings and may need to be treated differently because of this. It is not automatic that a complaint can not be dealt with and if possible the complaint will be dealt with particularly if it is in relation to on going matters such as contact. If the concerns being raised are intrinsically linked to court proceedings they cannot be investigated. There are however some things which can never be investigated for example an order of the Court or evidence given in court. There are some things that are so central to a court case they can not be investigated until the hearing is finished for example should a child have been removed into care.

Proceedings are tense times for all concerned. It is understandable that families and children become unclear about whom they should tell of their unhappiness with the situation.

The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006 came into force on 1st December 2006. They apply to England only. Although this statutory instrument provides a clear backbone to the Complaints Procedure, it still leaves the investigation of complaints during Proceedings somewhat of a grey area. It is stated that if the complainant has stated in writing to the local authority that he intends to take proceedings in "any court or tribunal", the local authority shall not consider, or further consider, complaints (or representations as they are called). However there must be certain categories of issues and misgivings, which might be referred to as "complaints", for which it would be in everybody's best interests if they were resolved speedily, or expeditiously - to use the Statue's terminology.

Consider these two possible "complaints" which may arise during care proceedings.

A parent says to the social worker "I want to complain about contact – we do not get enough of it, and I don't see why you have to be present;."
A parent says to the social worker "I want to complain about contact – the room is always too cold, and I wish we had a few more toys to play with."

Clearly one can be simply remedied by a practical solution, and the other needs careful consideration by all parties in the court setting and also has child protection aspects. To say to the parent in the first instance "I am afraid that I cannot deal with your complaint while we are in proceedings" would be unhelpful. In practice most complaints received during proceedings will not be as clear cut as the two above. Workers will need to be aware of the following:

Procedure for processing complaints received during proceedings:

Some important considerations:

It is important that, as with all complaints to the local authority, they must not stand in the way of criminal, disciplinary or child protection issues that may arise;
The list of who may complain remains unchanged. The complainant may or may not be a party to the proceedings. (Foster Carers, for example, can make complaints;)
Should a complaint proceed, or already be at stage 2, during proceedings, the local authority would need to seek leave for the Independent Person to have access to papers before the court. It would be wrong to assume this would automatically be granted.

On receipt of a "complaint" the Complaints Services Complaint Co-ordinator will:

Notify the complainant that the procedure will be complicated by the presence of proceedings, but the worker will do their best to address the issue, and that a written reply will be forthcoming;
Advise the complainant that they should share their complaint also with their solicitor (if they have one). A child should be advised to contact their CAFCASS Guardian (if they have one). If the complaint reaches the social work team directly from a service user's solicitor, then he or she should be directed to contact the Community Law team directly and the C&YPS Complaints Service;
The Complaints Co-ordinator will record the complaint at Stage 1 in the usual way;
If the complaint is purely a practical one, as in the example b. above, the matter should be immediately addressed. (This would also apply in the case of an oversight of communication – a complainant may for example complain that they have not been sent minutes from a meeting. This can immediately be rectified, although the issue of the complaint will still be logged, and the following procedure pursued);
Immediately make certain that the allocated Team Manager and Group Manager who is leading the case for the local authority is made aware of the complaint;
The Complaints Co-ordinator will communicate the complaint to the Community Law Team, preferably speaking directly to the solicitor directly involved with the proceedings. This must be done within five working days of receipt of the complaint;
The Community Law Team staff will advise, in detail if necessary, how the complaint should be pursued. The range of options will be from placing the whole issue before the court to instructing the social work team to address the complaint (at Stage 1) in the usual way. The suspending the complaint investigation until proceedings are completed is also an option;
Should the team be unable to resolve the complaint at stage one, and the complainant indicates their intention to move to stage 2 in writing in the usual way, the Community Law Team must again be made aware: it is almost certain at this stage that the matter will be placed before the Court, not least to enable the Independent Person to have access to court papers;
Should the team successfully resolve the complaint at Stage 1, the Community Law team also needs to be made aware of the outcome.

5. Advocacy

Nobody needs to be told that children and young people's voices need to be heard. This becomes of vital importance when they may be unhappy, dissatisfied or frightened. This may first come to light when they feel able to make a complaint. Recent legislation has sharpened the Local Authorities' duty to provide advocates for children.

When a young person contacts the Complaints Service an immediate referral for advocacy is made to the National Youth Advocacy Service

6. Receiving Complaints

Every staff member who works for Children and Family Services has a duty to record details of a complaint after ascertaining that the person making the complaint is eligible to do so and wishes it to be dealt with in an official capacity.

Once the details of the complaint have been received and recorded they must be passed to the Children & Young People's Complaints Service as a matter of priority. Where practicable this should be done via the member of staff's Line Manager. It is quite acceptable to advise the complainant to contact the Children & Young People's Service on 01482 616143. If this course of action is taken details of the complaint must still be passed to the respective Line Manager.

Once the complaint has been formally received it becomes a "logged complaint".

7. Stage One of the Complaint Procedure

The Children and Young People's Service Complaints Service will:

Start completing the appropriate Notification form to record the commencement of the Stage 1 Process.

The first one is to be used when the complaint is made by a child receiving a service other than being looked after (child in need).

The second one is to be used when the complaint is made by a child who is looked after.

The third one used when the complaint is made by a Parent/carer/guardian/ foster carer/other in relation to a child who is using any service (as or child in need or looked after);
Appoint an Investigating Officer (Grade 10 or above), this will usually be the first Line Manager responsible for the service area that the complaint is about;
To explain to the complainant in a standard letter the nature of the investigation, the name of the Investigating Officer and their contact details. One of the standard letters is used depending upon whether the complainant is a family member (or other interested party) or a child under 12 or a child 12 and under. This needs to be actioned within 3 working days;
Pass all information and documentation to the Investigating Officer, including a copy of the partially completed notification form;
Place details of the complaint on the department's complaints database.

The Investigating Officer will contact the complainant to discuss their complaint with them. The discussion should be about the recorded complaint and not any unrelated matters or further complaints. If further complaints are made these should be reported to the Children & Young People's Service Complaints Service and dealt with as a separate complaint. The standard letter may be used, although consideration should be given to composing perhaps friendlier, age appropriate text to children and young people.

At Stage 1 the Investigating Officer has 10 working days of the date the complaint was received, to attempt to resolve the situation informally.

A further 10 working days extension can be utilised with the agreement of the complainant. If the complaint can be resolved, the details will be put in writing to the complainant. Even if the complaint has been resolved the letter must contain details of the next stage should the complainant change their mind.

The Investigating Officer will forward a written report to the Children's Complaints Team with details of what actions have been taken and whether the complainant was satisfied with the outcome.

If the complaint can not be resolved at this stage the Children & Young People's Service Complaints Manager needs to be informed and a Stage 2 formal investigation considered (the complainant has the right to register his or her dissatisfaction with the outcome, and choose not to proceed to Stage 2).

8. Alternative Dispute Resolution

Nothing in this procedure should preclude either the complainant or the local authority from suggesting Alternative Dispute Resolution. If agreed by both the complainant and the Complaint's Service, the local authority should explore this option.

9. Stage Two of the Complaint Procedure

The complainant has 20 working days from the date the local authority sent their Stage 1 response to request a Stage 2 formal investigation.

At this point, The Children & Young People's Service Complaints Manager will review the complaint and decide whether the complaint will be progressed.

One option that the Children & Young People's Service Complaints Manager will occasionally choose is to place the request for a Stage Two investigation on hold. This may well be against the complaint's wishes, and usually legal advice will be obtained and the reasons for this, recorded and shared.

The type of circumstances where this is helpful is if there are current Children's Court activity, or if the complainant is unwell and could be deemed not to be able to take part in a complaints investigation. When a Stage Two investigation is placed on hold, the Children & Young Person's manager will review the circumstances on a three monthly basis with a view to proceeding when it becomes possible. It is incumbent upon those practitioners working with the child and family during this period to tell the Children & Young Person's Complaints manager of any changes.

If, as will normally be the case, the complaint is to be progressed, an Investigating Officer will be appointed. The Investigating Officer may be employed by the local authority (grade 11) but must not, however, be in direct line management of the service or person about whom the complaint is being made.

The Children & Young People's Service Complaints Service will start completing the appropriate Notification form to record the commencement of the Stage 2 Process. This is then sent to the Investigating Officer, and a copy to the Independent Person with the complaint case file.

The first one is to be used when the complaint is made by a child receiving a service other than being looked after (Child in Need).

The second one is to be used when the complaint is made by a child who is looked after.

The third one used when the complaint is made by a Parent/carer/guardian/ foster carer/other in relation to a child who is using any service (as or child in need or looked after).

The Children & Young People's Service Complaints Service will also appoint an Independent Person (IP) to the investigation (see next section on IP's). This person will be separate and in addition to the Investigating Officer and will have full access to all aspects of the investigation and will ensure its fairness and transparency.

The Children & Young People's Complaints Manager will write to the complainant using the standard letter which explains the Stage 2 process and who the Investigating Officer and the Independent Person will be.

Five copies in all will be sent: to service user, Investigating Officer, Independent Person, Area Team, IRO Team (if a Looked After Child).

The Children & Young People's Service Complaints Manager or the Investigating Officer will record in writing the details and scope of the complaint and the desired outcome. This will be achieved by correspondence and meeting the complainant to discuss (effectively being a starting off point of the stage 2 investigation), a written record of what was agreed will be made. It is at this point that the stage 2 timescale commences:

A comprehensive written report will be produced by the Investigating Officer using wherever possible the same format as the pro forma.

The investigation should be completed where possible and the response sent to the complainant within 25 working days from the date on which the scope of the Stage two was agreed. The 25 'working day' time limit may be extended up to a maximum of 65 working days. The Children & Young People's Service Complaints Service must ensure that this is communicated to the complainant and updates on the progress of the investigation are provided.

The Children & Young People's Service Complaint's Manager, the Investigating Officer and the Independent Person should plan how the investigation is to be carried out and to ensure that all those involved in complaint investigating are informed.

Note: If the complaint raises a disciplinary or possible criminal issue, the complaint process must be suspended and the complainant notified. Consultation with the Children's Complaints Manager must take place before suspending an investigation.

The Investigating Officer and the Independent Service will investigate the complaint and prepare a written report for adjudication by the local authority.

The Children & Young People's Complaints Manager should ensure that the complaint is investigated thoroughly and within time constraints by liaising with the Investigating Officer and Independent Person throughout the investigation.

The Independent Person will also:

Provide a report to the authority. The report should consider whether in their opinion the investigation has been conducted entirely in an impartial, comprehensive and effective manner;
Also consider whether all those concerned have been able to express their views fully and without duress;
Also provide oversight of the Investigating Officer's report and confirm that it provides an accurate and complete picture of the investigation;
Specifically comment on each aspect of the complaint and state whether they agree with the Investigating Officer's findings on them. The Independent Person may also make their own recommendations.

The Investigating Officer's findings, conclusions and recommendations, and the Independent Person's response and the complainants desired outcomes will then be passed via the Children's Complaints Manager to the Adjudicating Officer. The Adjudicating Officer will normally be a Senior Manager, reporting to the Assistant Director of Children & Young People's Services, i.e. Head of Service.

The Adjudicating Officer will:

Consider meeting with the Complaints Manager, the Investigating Officer and the Independent Person, to clarify aspects of the report;
Will write to the complainant confirming their response to the report, their decision on the complaint, actions they will be taking and their timescale for implementation. A copy of this will also go to any advocate involved. The formal response letter sent to the complainant should also contain details of their right to request a Review Panel;
Consider if it is necessary to meet the complainant to explain the outcome of the complaint and any actions that they propose. This meeting, known as the Adjudication Meeting, can be held prior to the Adjudicating Officer writing their adjudication or afterwards, depending on the particular issues of the complaint. The Adjudicating Officer may wish to have other people at this meeting, such as the Complaints Manager or the Investigating Officer;
Advise the complainant of their right to a Review Panel and that they must inform the Complaints Manager that they wish to take this up within 20 working days. After this time it will be at the discretion of the local authority as to whether to proceed with the Review;
Cascade information relating to the complaint and the decisions made to staff through normal line management. The Adjudicating Officer will also keep the Complaints Manager informed of the decisions made, so they in turn can notify any other persons involved with the investigation, such as the Investigating Officer and the Independent Person;
Ensure that any recommendations contained in the response are implemented.

The Children & Young People's Complaints Service will then send a general feedback document with a SAE to the complainant, using a standard letter format. The first is for a response by Young People, who will generally be in the Looked after category, the second for adults (who will usually be parents or carers):

If the complainant decides to take up their right to a review panel, within 20 working days, they will inform the Children's Complaints Manager who will initiate the review panel stage. A complainant may also request a review panel if the local authority have not correctly complied with stage two of the complaints process or have exceeded the time limit allowed for a complaint at stage two. The Complaints Service will advise the complainant of their rights to proceed to the Review Panel.

10. The Role of the Independent Person (IP)

The Children's Act 1989 Section 26(4) requires Local Authorities to involve an IP in all stage 2 complaints.

(See the OPSI website).

The person appointed must not be:

An elected member;
An employee of Hull City Council;
A spouse, or co-habitee of an employee or member.

Former members of the local authority staff may be IP's after three years.

Also an IP cannot perform any other roles within the investigation of a particular complaint, e.g. Advocate, Review Panelist.

The key tasks for the IP within a given complaint are:

Ensure that the process of investigation is open, transparent and fair;
Work alongside the investigating officer to provide an independent and objective view to the investigation of complaints;
See the same relevant files and documents as the Investigating Officer;
Participate in all interviews and discussions relevant to the investigation;
This is a new requirement: - read the Investigating Officer's report and produce his own report on the investigation;
Explain, where necessary, his or reasons for considering an investigation to be unfair or incomplete and to advise the complainant of this in his report.

The Children's Complaints Service is responsible for processing the Independent Person's expenses, and will supply this form.

11. Withdrawing a Complaint

A complaint may be withdrawn orally or in writing at any time (or stage) by the complainant or his advocate. Upon receiving this information the Children & Young People's Complaints Service will write to the complainant (and advocate) confirming withdrawal and also make the decision on the following options:

Whether there appears to be an issue which may have justified a complaint which needs pursuing within the Department (e.g. writing to the appropriate manager); or
Continue the complaint through to adjudication and issue a response to the complainant as it normally would at stage two.

12. The Review Panel - Stage 3

The role of Review Panel is to examine the complaint, the investigation process and the Department's response; its purpose is not to mount another parallel investigation of the complainant's issues.

The Review Panel should be alert at all times to the importance of providing a demonstrably fair and accessible process for all participants. It is important that the Panel is customer focused in its approach to considering the complaint.

Panel members should be mindful of the following objectives and requirements:

A need to focus on resolution for the complainant with desired outcomes being clearly defined;
Advocating the implementation of recommendations which are practical and creative;
Advocate local solutions where the opportunity for settlement is present;
A need to use the process to improve practice for the service as a whole;
To comply with National Minimum standards;
It acts in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; See
The wishes and feelings of children and young people directly affected by the representation or complaint are ascertained, recorded and taken into account wherever practicable (this is of particular significance in cases where the complaint is not brought about by the child or his advocate);
The standard of proof, when arriving at decisions by the Panel, will be the civil standard of "balance of probabilities" and not the criminal standards "beyond all reasonable doubt". This will be based on evidence and facts;
The requirements of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998 will be adhered to.

Review Panel - Composition

The Local Authority, represented by the Children & Young People's Complaints Manager is responsible for managing a pool of independent panelists.

To hear a given complaint The Panel will consist of three people who are independent. That is they must not be:

An employee or member of Hull City Council;
A spouse or civil partner of an employee of Hull City Council;
A person from "a pressure group or interest group operating in that particular borough;"
Not have been a member or employee of Hull City Council for three years preceding.

Those eligible to sit on the panel could include employees of other local authorities, or Health bodies as long as they are independent.

One panelist will chair and be aware of their duty to use discretionary power to suspend or defer proceedings in exceptional circumstances which might include the health and safety of those present.

Review Panel - Process

It is not possible to Review a complaint unless an investigation has been concluded at Stage 2.

The Children & Young People's Complaints Service will acknowledge receipt of the request for a Review Panel in writing within 2 working days.

A mutually convenient date for the Review Panel will be agreed and the following people invited.:

The complainant;
The complainant may bring his supporter(s) or advocate but not a solicitor or barrister acting in a professional capacity. The maximum number of supporters a complainant may bring to the meeting is two, unless the Chair agrees to waive this requirement. Consideration must be also given to accessibility and interpreter needs;
Select a minimum of three people to form the review panel, one of whom will be appointed as the chairperson;
Invite the relevant Children & Young People's Services senior manager to attend the Review Panel to represent Hull City Council;
The Complaint Investigating Officer and Independent Person will also attend. Their role is to provide advice and clarification about any issues arising from the investigation;
The Children & Young People's Services Complaints Manager will attend, and arrange for;
A Clerk to take notes.

(The complainant must be given at least 10 working days notice in writing of the meeting).

The Children & Young People's Complaints Manager will also consider if any further documentation, procedures or guidance is required to assist the panel. Also they may decide that other members of staff should attend the Review.

The Review Panel may proceed to consider the complaint if the complainant does not attend if either, the complainant requests this, or has failed to attend more than once before.

Review Panel – On the day

Panels should be conducted as informally as possible, but in a way which assure a professional outcome.

Usually the Panel activity will be divided into three parts:

The Pre-Meeting:

This is an opportunity for the panel members (excluding the complainant and his supporters) to meet in closed session to set out the order of business. Getting the best from Complaints 3.16.3, is helpful here stating "This is an opportunity for the Panelists and their administrative support to meet in closed session to discuss the order of business and any other relevant issues (e.g. taking legal advice). No deliberations on the complaint should commence at this meeting".

The Presentation:

The full meeting will take place. The Chair will begin with introductions and explaining its purpose. The focus must be maintained on the agreed complaint investigation which took place at Stage 2.

The Complainant or advocate will be able to speak. When the Chair is able to see that information and views have been shared and the Panelists are in a position to reach their findings and make recommendations he will draw matters to a close.

The Deliberation:

The Panel will then go into closed session with the Children & Young People's Complaints Manager and clerk. Findings and recommendations will be produced.

Review Panel – afterwards

The Chair of the Review Panel is responsible for seeing that a written record of the Panels findings, recommendations and reasons for these are sent to the Complainant and the Children & Young People's Complaints Manager within five working days of the meeting.

The Children & Young People's Complaints Manager will, following the Review Panel forward the recommendations immediately to the Head of Children & Young People's Services. They must also confirm that the Complainant knows of their right to take the matter, if still dissatisfied, to the Ombudsman.

The Director of Children Young People's Services will inform all parties of his decision within 15 working days of receipt of the Panel recommendations.

13. Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

The Local and Social Care Government Ombudsman has the power to investigate most of a Local Authority's work. Further information may be obtained from their website (See the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman website).

The Ombudsman will set out his own process for conducting the investigation. It may include an examination of documents generated by the Local Authority's own investigation through to examination of case files and interviewing staff at all levels. The Ombudsman should be directed to contact the Children's Complaints Manager as a first point of contact.

14. Children and Family Services Learning from Complaints

It is important that a complaint is viewed by workers at all levels as a learning exercise. It is frequent that a complaint has been caused by a procedural shortcoming, a communication breakdown or a training issue. It is incumbent upon workers, investigating officers, and the Children & Young People's Complaints Service to pick up issues emerging from investigations and feed them into the appropriate forums to bring about positive changes in the way we work. The Children & Young People's Complaints Service is happy to advise staff on how to progress issues which arise.

A quarterly e mail synopsis of issues arising from complaints and how these may impinge on policy and procedures is produced. The document also encourages positive feedback as well as didactic matters.

15. The Monitoring of Complaints

The Children & Young People's Complaints Service will monitor implementation of recommendations arising from complaint investigations and report to senior managers on a regular basis. A quarterly performance and monitoring of complaints report will be produced and shared with senior managers as well as an annual complaints report.

16. Child Protection Conference - Definition of a Complaint

A complaint can be dealt with under the child protection conference complaints procedure if it concerns:

The process of the conference;
The factual basis of the outcome, in that it does not support the category of initial or continuing registration;
A decision to register, to not register, to de-register or to continue registration.

The complaints procedure is not an appeal process against a decision that the would-be complainant does not agree with. It cannot be used to reconsider and overturn a decision which has been arrived at in a fair, reasonable and proper manner.

The circumstances for a representation may arise when a service user requests a re-evaluation of existing or new information which reasonably might have changed a conference decision. The Conference Chair must be initially made aware of this, who will discuss the situation with the IRO Manager. The discussion will be noted, and the reconvening of the conference will be a possible option. In no circumstances may a child protection plan or registration be modified until formally changed by a child protection conference.

17. Child Protection Conference - Procedure

A complaint should be put in writing and sent to the Chair of the Child Protection Conference. If it has been sent to the Children & Young People's Complaints Service, s/he will redirect it.

Informal stage:

The Conference Chair and the Children & Young People's Complaints Service will attempt to resolve the complaint by meeting with the complainant.

The Conference Chair will write to the complainant within 5 working days of the meeting, summarising the findings. The complainant will be invited, if still dissatisfied, to make a response to the Children & Young People's Complaints Service within 5 working days of receiving the letter. If this is the case, an inter-agency panel will be set up to further examine the complaint.

Note: If the complaint was about the conduct of the Chair or the manner in which s/he conducted the child protection conference, the complaint will be investigated by the IRO Manager.

Inter-Agency Panel:

The panel will be set up by the Independent Reviewing Service within 15 working days. Panel members will be representatives from the agencies participating in the Hull Safeguarding Children's Partnership Guidelines and Procedures.

The Panel will consider:

How the business of the conference was conducted, and whether the rules were followed properly;
Whether it was reasonable to come to the decision about registration.

The Panel will decide if the complaint is upheld and, if so, make recommendations.

If the complaint is not upheld, the Panel Chair will write to the complainant, giving reasons for the decision within 5 working days of the meeting.

If the complaint is upheld, the child protection conference will be reconvened with the same participants and a new independent Chair. The new conference must be held within 15 working days of the Panel meeting. The reconvened conference will consider the recommendations of the Panel and decide whether the condition for registration is met, and the relevant category.

Final resolution:

If the complainant remains dissatisfied after the reconvened conference, he may request that the Inter-Agency Panel reviews the position. The Panel will be convened as before within 15 working days of the request for review. An independent person will chair this meeting. Again the complainant will be informed by the Chair within 5 working days of the outcome: the decision of the panel is final.

18. Vexatious Complainants Procedure

For All Children's Services

Definition

For the purpose of this Policy the term used to identify people who constantly complain regarding services they are receiving will be vexatious.

The terms Habitual and Serial Complainant are also acceptable terms.

A complainant will/may be deemed to be vexatious if:

Frequent complaints are received from a singular person regarding minor issues;
Persistent repetition of the same complaint, sometimes with minor differences, but where the outcome of any investigation is never accepted;
Expectation of unrealistic or unobtainable outcomes but with the clear intention to persist regardless.

Process

Any manager receiving, what they believe, to be a vexatious representation should inform the Complaints Service. They should outline the nature of the complaint and their reasons for bringing it to the attention of the Complaints Service;
The Manager should keep a full account of the potentially vexatious complaints received and arrange to meet with the complaints service to discuss any potential action;
If the potentially vexatious complaint is made directly to the complaints unit, the complaints service will discuss any potential actions with the relevant manager;
The decision to deem a complainant, vexatious, will only be taken following discussions between the Complaints manager and appropriate Group Manager and Legal Services;
If it is agreed that a person is to be classed as vexatious they will be formally informed in writing giving the reasons. A record of this decision will be included on their file held by the Complaints Unit. All Appropriate Service Areas used by the complainant will be informed of the vexatious classification imposed;
All relevant officers, members, MP's and external bodies (as appropriate) will be informed of the complainant's vexatious classification;
Implementation of the Policy on Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour & Unacceptable Complainant Behaviour should only used as a last resort, after all reasonable measures have been taken to resolve the complaint;
If it is deemed that a vexatious complainant has adopted a more reasonable approach to submitting complaints then the decision to reverse vexatious status should be implemented.

Appendix 1: Key Lessons from Ombudsman Investigations

Do

Invest time at the outset to decide if a complaint should be considered under the statutory complaints procedure or through an alternative procedure;
Speak to the complainant at stage one to define their complaint and manage their expectations of what an investigation might achieve;
Keep the complainant informed of any delays;
Keep detailed records at each stage of the investigation, including any decision not to use the statutory complaints procedure or not to accept a late request to escalate a complaint;
Signpost to the Ombudsman once a complaint completes the statutory complaints procedure, or if the council decides not to investigate a complaint.

Do not

Refuse to investigate a complaint at stage two or three due to a lack of resources or because the council does not think there is merit to the complaint;
Switch complaint procedures part-way through. If a council accepts a complaint under the statutory complaints procedure it must complete this to the complainant's satisfaction;
Make an early referral to the Ombudsman if the criteria set out in the guidance have not been met.

From: Children's statutory complaint process: Guide for Practitioners (Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman).

Further Information

Good Practice Guidance

Effective Complaint Handling for Local Authorities (Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman)

Children's Statutory Complaint Process: Guide for Practitioners (Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman)