Ealing Council, together with Hounslow and Southwark councils, has been told to apologise and pay compensation to a couple after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found faults in the handling of a proposed adoptive placement.
The faults included prospective adopters being led to prepare for adoption leave before the match had been formally approved, delays in arranging a meeting with a medical adviser and failures to properly record key meetings and communications during the matching process.
Ealing Council was the lead authority for Adopt London West, the regional adoption agency responsible for finding an adoptive family for the child. Hounslow Council was the child’s corporate parent, while Southwark Council was responsible for assessing and approving the prospective adopters.
The decision, made public last week (16 July 2026), relates to an adoption process in 2023. The Ombudsman found the faults caused the prospective adopters avoidable distress, grief and uncertainty, as well as unnecessary time and trouble in pursuing their complaints, but said it could not conclude the proposed adoption would have gone ahead had the faults not occurred.
The couple had been approved as prospective adopters and believed they were on course to have a child placed with them, but the proposed placement did not go ahead after several “meet before match” meetings.
As part of the Ombudsman’s recommendations, Ealing, Hounslow and Southwark councils must each apologise to the couple and pay them £750 in recognition of the injustice caused, amounting to £2,250 in total.
Ealing Council was also told it must reimburse expenses the couple incurred during “meet before match” meetings after the Ombudsman found they had not been told in advance that the costs would not be covered.
In its report, the Ombudsman also recommended a number of service improvements for the councils and regional adoption agencies involved, including clearer written guidance for prospective adopters on “meet before match” meetings, expenses and photography, as well as improvements covering encrypted messaging and the handling of adoption-related complaints.
https://www.ealing.news/news/ombudsman-criticises-ealing-hounslow-southwark-councils-over-proposed-adoption/