Summary: Mr and Mrs C complained about an assessment the Council wrote in respect of their granddaughter D, for whom they were special guardians. They felt the Council misrepresented them in the assessment, included inaccurate information about them and treated opinions as fact, which caused them distress. We cannot find fault with the actions the Council took.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs C complained that Norfolk County Council (the Council) wrote an inaccurate assessment about them and their relationship with their granddaughter, D, for whom they were special guardians. This caused them distress. They also complained that the Council failed to respond to their complaint properly which caused frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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

4. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant. We also made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Mr and Mrs C and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

5. Mr and Mrs C were special guardians for Mrs C’s granddaughter, D. In April 2020 Mr E, the father of D, telephoned the Council’s emergency duty team to express concerns about what he heard Mr C say in the background, while Mr E was having a telephone conversation with D. This led to the Council visiting D, and Mr and Mrs C, to carry out an assessment.
6. The assessment said in respect of the call that:

[D] has phoned her Dad this evening. Mr E could hear [Mr and Mrs C] shouting at [D] saying they hated her, they were also being very verbally abusive towards [Mr E].

7. It also included a record of the call back to Mr E by the duty worker, which said:

[Mr E] said that he spoken to [D] tonight and her grandfather was shouting in the background and saying he hated her….

8. Later in the report it said the reason for the assessment was because:

[Mr E] had raised concerns about the behaviour of [Mr C] directed towards [D]. She had run up a high phone bill and [Mr E] overheard [Mr C] shouting and swearing at her.

9. The duty worker also spoke to Mr and Mrs C. The worker recorded that Mr and Mrs C said they were fed up with D saying she did not want to live with them. They had had enough and suggested that she go elsewhere now.
10. The duty worker said she thought more support was needed and the situation needed to be reviewed because they were clearly unhappy with the placement. The duty worker also spoke directly to D who said she was unhappy and did not wish to live with Mr and Mrs C anymore. The duty worker said she would refer the case to the social work team which Mr C agreed was a good idea.
11. The assessment also said at one point that Mr C had taken D’s phone and TV away and she had not been allowed to leave the house. At a later point it just referred to D having no phone or TV in her room.
12. Before the assessment was completed D moved in with her father. Mr and Mrs C complained to the Council in June 2020 after they had seen a copy of the assessment. They said it was inaccurate:
• It attributed remarks to them which they had never made.
• Excluded other comments they had made.
• Failed to take account of the whole time D had lived with them.
• It expressed hearsay or opinion as fact without supporting evidence.
• It did not use a reasonably unbiased tone.
13. Specifically, they were unhappy that the assessment said:
• Mr E had heard Mr C shouting and swearing at Mr C. Mr C said this was untrue and it was hearsay.
• At one time D had no phone, no tv and could not leave the house. Mr C said he had confiscated her phone and TV once near the end of her stay with them and had never prevented her leaving the house.
• Mr and Mrs C had not maintained relationships D’s parents. Mr C said he regularly visited D’s mother but did not like Mr E.
• Mr E did not seek out the arrangement for D to move in with him. Mr C said he had been determined for some time that D should live with him and had influenced D in recent months.
• Mr and Mrs C were unable to meet D’s needs for emotional warmth. They disagreed and said the social worker had provided no evidence to support this.
14. They were also felt the assessment misrepresented their relationship with D and missed out fun sociable times they had spent together. It also missed out conversations Mr C had had with the social worker about attempts he had made to communicate with D and find out why she was unhappy.
15. They disputed D was depressed, or that they required D to be grateful for the care they had given her or that they had made contact between D and Mr E difficult.
16. The Council responded to the complaint in July 2020. It appreciated Mr and Mrs C may not agree with the comments and information provided by third parties, including the professional view of the social worker. But the Council considered it was a balanced and reflective assessment, based on the information available to her at the time, with D’s voice at the centre. It also said it would place a formal record on file of Mr and Mrs C’s response to the complaint.
17. Mr and Mrs C pursued their complaint. The Council responded that the social worker had reported the allegation as made but had not commented on its credibility and then went on to detail the steps taken in response. Mr C continued to express dissatisfaction, so the Council directed him to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

18. I understand Mr and Mrs C found the assessment report difficult to read and were unhappy with some of the information contained within it.
19. However, I cannot find fault with the way in which the Council compiled the assessment and the actions it has taken in response to Mr C’s complaint. The document contains three references to the original allegation and it is clear that this was reported by Mr E. The social worker does not give a view as to whether it is true or not, but details the action she took in response: she spoke to Mr E, Mr and Mrs C and D and visited D in two different settings on several occasions. Given the concern that was raised, this appears to be a proportionate response.
20. The assessment contains information as reported by D and about which Mr and Mrs C may have a differing view, but I cannot conclude it was biased against them. The Council’s focus was on ensuring D’s wellbeing which involved exploring her feelings about the adults in her life and where she wished to live. It was the social worker’s role to reach a view about Mr and Mrs C’s parenting and how this was affecting D. Given that Mr and Mrs C wished her to live elsewhere, there was no need to pursue these issues further.
21. If D had remained living with Mr and Mrs C for the duration of the assessment it is likely they would have had more opportunity to comment on the assessment and the next steps. Equally the Council would have had more opportunity to carry out an assessment of Mr E’s parenting capacity. I consider the Council’s offer to place Mr and Mrs C’s views on the file is an appropriate way of responding to their perception that the process was unfair. Anyone reading the file in the future can read their views on the conclusions reached by the social worker.

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Final decision

22. I have completed my investigation into this complaint as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Mr and Mrs C.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman