Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about children services’ actions nearly 30 years ago. It is unlikely our investigation could reach a fair and robust decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, says the Council should have done more in 1996 to find out the paternity of her adopted child, Y.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X which included the Council’s reply to her.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Y is now an adult and has consented to Mrs X complaining on their behalf. Mrs X says they were told Mr Z was Y’s father at adoption. Mrs X has provided written documents showing that in 1996 at the meetings before adoption it was believed Mr Z was Y’s father and he had accepted this.
6. Mrs X says later Y and Mr Z established a relationship and Y formed contacts and bonds with Mr Z’s other children believing them to be siblings. In December 2022 Y had a DNA test and found out that Mr Z was not their father. Mrs X says the Council should have done more in 1996 to find out if Mr Z was Y’s father.

Analysis

7. I am not confident our investigation has a realistic prospect of reaching a sound and fair decision for the following two reasons:
1. The events are nearly 30 years old. It will be difficult to establish the material facts with reasonable confidence. In older cases we are less likely to be able to gather sufficient evidence to reach a sound judgement. Even if some evidence is available, we would need to be particularly careful to ensure it is reliable, and provides a full picture. Officers’ recollections will not be as reliable.
2. The current standards, guidance, or professional expectations are not the same as 30 years ago. While paternity testing was available its availability and usage was not as wide spread as today. It is therefore likely to be more difficult to reach a firm and fair conclusion on whether there was fault.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could reach a fair and robust decision on events from nearly 30 years ago.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman