Summary: Miss W complains the Council has failed to consider her concerns about the safeguarding of a child and their siblings. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s handling or that it ignored Miss W’s concerns.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Miss W, complains the Council has failed to consider her concerns about the safeguarding of a child and their siblings. Miss W says this has caused her distress and frustration.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I have spoken to Miss W and considered the information she has provided in support of her complaint.
6. I have considered the Council’s response to our enquiries, which includes information I am unable to share with Miss W or refer to in this decision.
7. Miss W and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

8. The Children Act 1989 and statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out the council’s responsibilities to safeguard children.
9. The Children Act 1989 says: “where a local authority…have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the authority shall make, or cause to be made, such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.” (The Children Act 47(1)).
10. Under the Children Act 1989, councils should provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting their welfare. Where a referral is accepted under section 17 (Child in Need), the Council should lead a multi-agency assessment and compete it within 45 working days. Where the council children’s social care decides to provide services, it should develop a multiagency child in need plan which sets out which organisations and agencies will provide which services to the child and family. The plan must be reviewed within 3 months of the start of the child in need plan and further reviews should take place at least every 6 months thereafter. (Working Together to Safeguard Children)
11. Harm means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development, including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. (The Children Act 1989 31(9))
12. If a Council accepts a referral for a child, it must carry out a needs assessment and have due regards to the child’s age and understanding when determining what, if any, services to provide. Every assessment must be informed by the views of the child as well as their family, and the child’s wishes and feelings must be sought regarding the provision of services to be delivered. Where possible, the children should be seen alone. (Working Together to Safeguard Children)

What happened

13. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
14. Miss W’s ex-partner, Mr X, shares parental responsibility with Ms Y for Child A, who lives with their mother and her half-sibling, Child B.
15. At the beginning of 2019, Miss W and Mr X raised concerns with the Council about Child A’s welfare while in Ms Y’s care. Miss W and Mr X raised further concerns about Child A and B’s welfare while in Ms Y’s care.
16. Miss W and Mr X made further reports of concern about the children in April, August and November 2019. Their concerns continued to relate to the welfare of the children while in their mother’s care. In November 2019, Miss W and Mr X raised concerns about the safety of the children as their mother had started a new relationship. Miss W and Mr X told the Council Ms Y’s new partner might pose a risk of harm to the children.
17. In April 2020, Miss W made a stage two complaint about the way the Council dealt with the concerns she and Mr X raised about the welfare of Child A and Child B while in their mother’s care. The Council appointed an Investigating Officer (IO) and Independent Person (IP) to complete the investigation into Miss W and Mr X’s concerns.
18. In October 2020, the IO and IP completed their review of the Council’s files and interviewed key Council employees involved. The IO and IP concluded that there was no evidence the Council had ignored Miss W and Mr X’s concerns about Child A’s welfare. The IO and IP could not provide information to Miss W and Mr X about Child B because neither has parental responsibility. The IO made recommendations about how the Council should communicate with all parties involved going forward. The Council accepted the findings in the IO’s report and wrote to confirm this to Miss W and Mr X on 28 October 2020.
19. Miss W brought her concerns to us in November 2020 because she remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handling and response to her complaint.

Analysis

20. Miss W has told us she is no longer in a relationship with Mr X. However, she continues to have concerns about the welfare of Child A. I can appreciate Miss W’s desire to know more about the Council’s actions.
21. Miss W does not have parental responsibility for Child A or Child B. This means I am unable to share anything about how the Council considered any safeguarding referrals it received about these children or the action it took as a result.
22. I have however examined a considerable amount of evidence from the Council. This includes records of all the interactions it had with Mr X, Ms Y and the children. Based on the evidence I have seen, I am satisfied the Council has followed statutory guidance to ensure the children are appropriately safeguarded.
23. I realise the lack of detail in this statement does not provide Miss W with the answers she is looking for. I hope, however, that my independent review of the Council’s evidence gives her some reassurance that her concerns were not ignored and were handled in line with statutory procedures.

Back to top

Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation with a finding of no fault in the Council’s handling.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman