Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s failure to engage with her about concerns she has about her son’s welfare and its decision to restrict her contact with officers. She also complains about the failure to investigate other safeguarding and criminal concerns she has raised. The Ombudsman has found no fault in any of the matters complained about.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s failure to engage with her about concerns she has about her son’s welfare. She also complains about the failure to investigate complaints of sexual exploitation of children and adults in their care by their own staff. She wants the Council to investigate her concerns and facilitate contact with her son.
2. She also complains about the Council’s decision to restrict her contact with officers under its, “Policy on Managing Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour”.
3. She says the Council’s actions have had a devasting impact on the life of her and her son since he has been the subject of a care order.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the complaint and the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I spoke to Ms X on the telephone. I sent this draft decision statement to both parties and invited comments. I have taken the comments made by Ms X into consideration.

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What I found

7. Ms X’s son, D, was made the subject of a full care order in 2004. He is now an adult. Since he was taken into care, Ms X has made a number of serious allegations about foster carers and social work staff. These included sexual exploitation and people trafficking. These have been investigated by the Council and it found no evidence to support what she said. Nor have there been any police charges against social workers or foster carers.
8. The Council has confirmed Ms X complained in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 about the same and similar issues. It investigated her concerns, responded to all of these complaints in writing and offered to meet with Ms X on a number of occasions. Ms X chose not to accept these invitations.
9. Ms X continued to complain about matters that had been investigated as she was not satisfied with the outcome.
10. In February 2019, the Council imposed restrictions on Ms X’s contact with the Council under its “Policy on Managing Unreasonable Contact”. She was asked to contact the Council by email only to a specific inbox. This approach will be reviewed annually.
11. Mrs X says the Council has failed both her and her son for many years. She would like the British authorities to liaise with the FBI who would better understand her complaints.
12. There is no evidence that D is either aware of supportive of Ms X’s current complaint.

Analysis

13. It is not the role of the Ombudsman to reinvestigate matters that have already been the subject of a Council investigation in the absence of maladministration. The Ombudsman must be satisfied that such investigations are carried out fairly and comply with the principles of natural justice.
14. Ms X says the Council cannot be responsible for investigating these matters because many of the staff are personally involved in the serious matters she complains about.
15. During my investigation I asked Ms X to provide me with any evidence she had that supported the allegations she had made. None was provided.
16. I have carefully considered the Council’s responses to her complaints. They clearly set out the reason for her complaints not being upheld. I found the Council’s handling of this matter to be both thorough and sensitive to the issues involved. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary being provided by Ms X, I do not find the Council to be at fault in its complaint handing or the manner and outcome of its investigations.
17. The Council’s records show it has spent a considerable amount of time investigating Ms X’s complaints over the years. The use of its “Managing Unreasonable Contact” was, I suspect, only used as a last resort as dealing with her complaints over the years has clearly taken a significant amount of officer time.
18. The Council prepared a report setting out its reasons for seeking to apply the policy. It notified Ms X of its position. It will also keep the matter under review. The procedure does not seek to “gag” Ms X. She is entitled to raise any new concerns of present any evidence in support of what she says. However, she must do so in a particular way to avoid a disproportionate amount of officer time being spent on matters that have already been fully investigated. This is the correct approach and the Ombudsman will not interfere.

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Final decision

19. I am satisfied with there has been no fault in the way the Council responded to Ms X’s complaints about her son’s care and its decision to restrict her contact with officers.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman