Local authorities are being urged to check they have adequate information sharing agreements with their service providers, after one council struggled to access essential data.

London Borough of Ealing had agreed to a recommendation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to carry out a statutory children’s services complaint investigation after a complaint from one of its foster carers.

However, despite agreeing to carry out the review, Ealing was unable to access the data it needed from the National Fostering Agency (NFA) which arranged placements on its behalf.

The NFA said it could not provide data about the children the foster carers had looked after because the foster parents did not have the right to request the information.

The Ombudsman’s subsequent investigation found the council had not considered that it was itself acting in loco parentis and therefore had the right to request the children’s information from the agency.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: ‘When councils enter into contracts with service providers they need to ensure the different parties’ responsibilities are clear from the outset – this can include areas such as complaints resolution and, as in this case, information sharing.

‘Because no such agreement was in place with the agency, a foster carer has been waiting more than two years for her complaint to be resolved by Ealing Council, despite its best intentions to do so.’

An Ealing Council spokesperson commented: We fully accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman and have formally apologised to Mrs X.

‘Since 2020 we have reviewed our data information sharing arrangements with partner agencies, including the National Fostering Agency, to ensure timely, wrap around support and have put in place structures to ensure complaints are followed up at the earliest possible opportunity.’