Few councils have complaints officer

New research suggests that as few as one in four local authorities
in England and Wales have appointed a children’s complaints officer
as recommended in an inquiry report.

The appointment of an “appropriately qualified or experienced”
children’s complaints officer in every social services authority
was one of Sir Ronald Waterhouse’s key recommendations in his
report, Lost in Care.

Yet more than three years after the report was published, research
by the University of East Anglia reveals that just 22 per cent of
local authorities in England and Wales have a dedicated
officer.

The findings follow research last May which found that only eight
out of 22 local authorities in Wales had appointed an officer.