In this month’s edition of the Ombudsman’s findings, we discuss kinship care cases.
This month we published decision reports from 11 complaints investigated by the Ombudsman. Nine of these were about health services, one about health and social care and one about local government. The outcome of these 11 complaints were
- Fully upheld: 6
- Some upheld: 2
- Not upheld: 2
- Resolved: 1
We made 29 recommendations.
Kinship care
Two of our published complaints this month relate to kinship care. Kinship care is where a child is unable to live with their birth parent(s) and resides instead with a relative, a friend or someone else known to them.
In one case, our investigation found that a local authority had failed to provide appropriate support to a grandparent after their grandchild came into their care. As well as financial support, local authorities should provide practical advice and support to kinship carers or refer them to other appropriate agencies.
We asked the local authority in this case to reflect on our findings and the responsibilities of the local authority in supporting kinship carers.
Not all complaints require a long or detailed investigation. We actively seek opportunities to resolve complaints as it improves customer experience by providing redress more quickly and helps to rebuild relationships with public bodies.
In another case, a health and social care partnership agreed to review their decision not to backdate kinship care allowance in light of new Scottish Government guidance.
Following contact from this office, the partnership said they would apologise to the complainant and calculate the allowance due.
You can find a guide to alternative complaint resolution approaches on the support and guidance section of our website.
All our published decision reports can be read in full on our website.