When things go wrong: Being an independent person under the Children Act 1989 complaints procedure

The introduction of market principles into public services in the 1990s mea nt that British local authorities were required to develop complaints proce dures. In the case of services for children and families, the Children Act 1989 required the appointment of an "independent person". This article desc ribes the findings from a research study conducted in 1999. A total of nine teen independent people from a range of London boroughs participated. It wa s found that young people themselves rarely use this system designed to pro tect their rights. As "sole traders" in adversarial situations between soci al services personnel and complainants, the independent people were constan tly negotiating their position. Depending upon the issue, they are required to move skillfuly between conciliation and formal investigation. The findi ngs will be use l to local authorities using independent people, and to the independent people themselves who are largely unsupported in their roles.