Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (19 003 584)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 11-Dec-2019

Summary: Mr F complains about the actions of the Council when its social workers worked with his family in 2015 and 2016. Too much time has passed to allow the Ombudsman to investigate the concerns properly and significant parts of the complaint are also outside jurisdiction because they relate to decisions made by the court.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (18 016 480)

Statement Not upheld Child protection 10-Dec-2019

Summary: the Council has properly considered Mr F’s concerns about his daughter’s welfare and his complaints about his dealings with the Council.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (19 011 156)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 06-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X and Miss Y’s complaint about the actions of a Council officer during court proceedings because it lies outside his jurisdiction. The law prevents the Ombudsman from considering what has happened in court.

Leicester City Council (19 011 523)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 05-Dec-2019

Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s actions in 2010, when it removed her child from her care. We cannot investigate this late complaint as there is not a good reason Miss X did not complain sooner, and we are unlikely to be able to properly investigate due to the time that has passed since events. In any event, decisions relating to Miss X’s child were ultimately made by the courts, and we cannot interfere in court decisions.

Derby City Council (18 018 620)

Statement Upheld Child protection 05-Dec-2019

Summary: there was fault in the Council’s handling of some matters during the period of its investigation of concerns about a non-accidental injury to Ms G’s daughter. Its handling of her complaint was also poor. The Council will apologise and make a payment to Ms G to recognise the injustice to her and provide an update on changes to social work practice to ensure the identified fault is not repeated in future.

Cumbria County Council (18 006 341)

Statement Upheld Child protection 05-Dec-2019

Summary: Miss X complains that the Council has failed to safeguard her daughter. She disagrees with the findings of an independent investigation into her complaint. She says this has caused stress, distress, and cost time and trouble. The Ombudsman upholds Miss X’s complaint because we find fault causing Miss X injustice. The Ombudsman finds that, on the whole, the Council has remedied the injustice caused by the faults. However, the Council will apologise to Miss X for the injustice caused by failing to have monthly meetings to update her on her daughter’s progress.

Slough Borough Council (18 004 258)

Statement Not upheld Child protection 03-Dec-2019

Summary: Mr X has a number of complaints about the Council’s approach to care decisions about his son, D. I have investigated his complaint about a failure to provide ongoing support for D. The Ombudsman does not find the Council at fault.

London Borough of Bromley (19 011 022)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 02-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot and should not investigate Ms J’s complaint about children’s services’ involvement with her family, because the issues are tied up with current court proceedings.

Hampshire County Council (19 008 866)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Child protection 02-Dec-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council recording incorrect and dishonest information about her because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because the crux of this complaint has already been considered in court proceedings. The law prevents us from investigating such matters.

London Borough of Haringey (18 016 874)

Statement Not upheld Child protection 29-Nov-2019

Summary: Ms X complains about the way the Council carried out an assessment of the welfare of her children and alleged they were left ‘Home Alone’. The Ombudsman has found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters.