If you have an urgent safeguarding concern please contact Children’s Social Care on 0345 045 5203 or by using the online child protection form immediately.
Overview
This page outlines the Children’s Statutory Complaint process.
The way we deal with Children’s Social Care complaints is set out in law under The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006.
We strive to deliver high-quality service and appreciate your feedback regarding children's social care. If you would like to make a suggestion or give positive feedback, please visit our provide feedback page.
We want to remove barriers for our customers when making contact with the Council, including if you are disabled, neurodivergent, or have a physical or mental health condition. To help, reasonable adjustments can be asked for at any time and requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. View our full reasonable adjustments for customers policy.
Who can use this process?
This process relates to users of Children’s Social Care services.
Complaints following this procedure can be made by a child or young person who is subject to a Special Guardianship Order, is adopted, is or was Looked After, or is In Need. Complaints can also be made by those with parental responsibility such as a parent, or day-to-day care such as a foster carer, a current or former guardian, an adopter or prospective adopter, or a person who has applied for an assessment under section 14F (3) or (4). The local authority also has discretion to accept complaints made from someone deemed to have sufficient interest in the child or young person’s welfare.
Complaints made on behalf of a child
Where a complaint is received from a representative acting on behalf of a child or young person, the Children's Complaints and Feedback Team may seek to confirm where possible that the child or young person is happy for this to happen and that the complaint submitted reflects their views. The local authority also has discretion to decide whether the representative is suitable to act or has sufficient interest in the child’s welfare.
How to submit a complaint
Online
Complete our online form.
By telephone or in-person
If you have the contact details for a named officer or team, they can help you to provide feedback if you need assistance. Alternatively, you can contact the Customer Services Team on 0345 045 5200.
If you would like to do this in person, you can be supported to provide feedback at Awdry House, Wisbech or New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald. Staff at our libraries can also support you in completing the online form.
By post
In writing to Cambridgeshire County Council, Children’s Statutory Customer Feedback (SCO2316), PO Box 761, Huntingdon, PE29 9QR.
What can and cannot be complained about?
- The Statutory Complaint procedure does not apply when the person wishing to complain does not meet the requirements of ‘who can use this process’.
- The local authority has the discretion to decide to accept matters being complained about which occurred 12 months prior to the complaint being submitted.
- Regulation 8 provides the local authority with discretion in deciding whether to consider complaints where to do so would prejudice a concurrent investigation, such as court proceedings, tribunals, criminal investigations or disciplinary matters.
- Complaints regarding children’s services that are not in relation to social care, such as Special Education Needs or Early Help intervention will follow the non-statutory complaint procedure. Additionally, where a complaint is received about Children's Social Care but isn't being made on behalf of or relating to the child, then these concerns will follow the non-statutory complaint procedure.
- We are unable to investigate complaints made relating to other agencies, such as health or education. In such circumstances, we will direct you to the appropriate complaints policy with the relevant agency.
What happens after I submit a Children’s Social Care complaint?
Stage 1 - Local Resolution
On receiving your complaint, the Children's Complaints and Feedback Team will send you an acknowledgement explaining next steps, and where appropriate, who will investigate your concerns and the date you can expect a response.
We will do our best to investigate the issues you have raised and try and resolve your concerns. A written response will be sent within 10 working days of receipt of your complaint. However, if there is a delay we will let you know, extending the response due date to a maximum of 20 working days.
If you remain dissatisfied following receipt of your complaint response you may request your complaint, be escalated to the next stage of the complaint procedure.
Stage 2 - Independent Investigation
This stage involves the appointment of two independent people to investigate the complaint; both will be Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checked and are contracted on a case-by-case basis for which they are paid an hourly rate.
The independent investigators will contact you to introduce themselves, review the relevant case files and interview key members of staff. The Investigating Officer will write the main investigation report, including their own findings and recommendations, and the Independent Person will write a separate shorter report commenting on how the investigation was conducted and if it was progressed in the best interests of the child/ren concerned. Both reports are forwarded to a senior ‘adjudicating’ officer within the relevant service for consideration, who will prepare a response on behalf of the local authority called a ‘letter of adjudication’.
From the date of your escalation request, our aim is to complete the investigation and adjudication within 25 working days. If there is a delay, a holding letter will be sent extending the due date to a maximum of 65 working days for the investigation and adjudication.
If you remain unhappy following receipt of your stage 2 complaint response, you are entitled to request escalation to Stage 3, where a further review by a panel of three independent people will be held.
Stage 3 - Panel Review
Request for a panel review must be made within 20 working days of the Stage 2 ‘letter of adjudication’ being received. Upon the complaint being escalated to Stage 3, we aim to convene a review panel within 30 working days.
Unlike Stages 1 and 2, Stage 3 is not another investigation. It is a review conducted by a panel made up of three independent people, not previously involved with the complaint, who will consider if the complaint was properly investigated and whether there should have been a different outcome, findings and recommendations.
The panel review tends to take place over 2-3 hours and is usually held virtually. Those invited to participate include the complainant(s), panel chair and panel members, stage 2 investigators, stage 2 adjudicating officer, any additional senior manager from the relevant service, the complaints manager to provide advice over the process followed and a complaint officer to administrate the process. The complainant(s) may be accompanied by an advocate or supporter if they choose.
Immediately following the panel review, the panel members will meet in closed session. Within 5 working days of the panel review, the panel chair will write a panel report containing the panel’s findings. Within 15 working days of the panel report being issued, a senior leader will write to the complainant on behalf of the local authority with their final response. This is the final stage of the Statutory Complaint process.
What's next?
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) can be approached by complainants at any point during the complaint process, but you will usually be redirected to the local authority to complete all 3 stages of the complaint process first.
The LGSCO looks to see if there has been any maladministration and makes recommendations to the local authority where it feels this has been the case.
Can I submit a complaint anonymously?
Whilst we accept anonymous complaints and will ensure these are passed to the relevant service to consider, we will be unable to provide a response unless a contact email or postal address is provided.
Whistleblowing
The Council’s Whistleblowing Policy can be used by anyone with a concern about potential wrongdoing to bring that issue to the Council’s attention with confidence that they will be listened to. Raising concerns or speaking up about wrongdoing is known as whistleblowing. If you wish to raise a specific whistleblowing issue, or if you are not sure what is the best route for reporting your concerns, you can email the dedicated whistleblowing email address: whistleblowing@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Confidentiality in the process
We will maintain the confidentiality of all personal information and only disclose it to other relevant parties with your permission or if we are otherwise legally obliged to do so. However, if we are informed of anything that makes us think that an individual is unsafe or at risk of being harmed, we will pass this on to the appropriate authority or service for action. Having your personal details helps us work with you in the best way through our feedback processes, however if you wish to make the complaint anonymously, please discuss this with the Children’s Complaints and Feedback Team. If you are raising an issue on behalf of someone else, we reserve the right to inform that person that you have contacted us.
Unreasonable behaviour
Most complaints we resolve through the procedures outlined above. Occasionally, customers may pursue complaints in ways which are unhelpful. Our customer handling policy describes how we may deal with customers where the customer is unreasonably persistent or otherwise acts unreasonably.
