Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to allocate a new social worker to her family after she told the Council she did not want to work with them. She also complained the Council conducted a Child Protection Conference incorrectly and would not acknowledge her complaints about this. She said this situation has caused her and her child, Y, distress and upset. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the social worker assigned to work with her family made false allegations against her. Mrs X said the Council ignored her requests to change this social worker. She also complained about events that took place during a Child Protection Conference and said the Council would not investigate her complaints about this.
2. She said this has caused her and her daughter Y distress and upset.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have discussed Mrs X’s complaint with her.
6. I made enquiries of the Council and considered the information it provided. This included Mrs X’s complaint form and correspondence between Mrs X and the Council.
7. I wrote to Mrs X and the Council with the draft decision. I considered Mrs X’s comments before I made the final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

Safeguarding children

8. The Children Act 1989 requires local authorities to investigate if there is reasonable cause to suspect a child in their area is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. They must decide whether to take action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare. This may include calling a child protection conference if there are concerns the child is, or may be at risk of significant harm.
9. Social workers have a statutory duty to lead assessments and carry out enquiries in a way which minimises distress for the child and family. The social worker may interview the child’s parents and gather information about the child and their family history to determine the level of risk the child is likely to face if they remain in their environment.

Child Protection Conference

10. The purpose of a Child Protection Conference is to share information between all the professionals who are working with the child and their family and decide what action is needed to keep the child safe. It may decide a child needs a child protection plan.
11. A Child Protection Plan is a plan drawn up by the Council. This sets out how the child can be kept safe and what support they will need.
12. The parents of the child should be told the reason for the plan and what they can do to ensure the child is kept safe.

The Council’s Persistent Complaints Handling Procedure

13. The Council defines persistent complainants as complainants who behave in one or more of the following ways:
• Making unnecessarily excessive demands on time and resources of staff by writing lengthy, complex letters every few days
• Raising many detailed but unimportant questions and requesting detailed responses
• Submitting repeat complaints after the complaints process has been completed
14. If the Council determines a complainant is a persistent complainant, it will send a letter to the complainant explaining why their behaviour is unreasonable and setting out how the Council intends to manage their communication. This may include designating a single point of contact for the complainant.

What happened

15. Mrs X’s daughter Y has autism and various complex needs. In February 2019, the Council placed Y on a Child Protection Plan due to concerns Mrs X was isolating Y and unnecessarily preventing her attending school.
16. In line with the requirements of the plan, Council social workers carried out unannounced visits to Mrs X and Y. Mrs X objected to the social worker’s involvement with her family, specifically their summaries of their interactions with her and Y. She made formal complaints to Social Work England (the social work regulator) about seven of the workers the Council sent to her home.
17. The social workers repeatedly reported that Mrs X was being obstructive and preventing them engaging with Y. Mrs X says she was not comfortable allowing Y to be viewed by social workers due to COVID-19 but she allowed the social workers to observe Y through a window.
18. In May 2019, the Council placed Mrs X on restricted contact after Mrs X telephoned and sent the Council lengthy complaints several times a week. The Council appointed a single point of contact (SPOC) to deal with Mrs X’s complaint and told her she could not send it more than one page of complaints once a week. The Council told Mrs X it may not respond to her complaints if they were not significantly different to matters, she had previously complained about.
19. In July 2020, the Council wrote to Mrs X and told her it was placing additional restrictions on her contact saying, “The Council feels it is necessary to put in place additional restrictions on the contact you are making with the organisation due to the burden your contact with the Council is causing and the tone of these communications, which is causing distress.”
20. On 3 September 2020, the Council held a strategy meeting with Mrs X’s social worker, Ms B, and staff members at Y’s school in response to concerns that Y was at risk. It was agreed by all parties that Y could be at risk of significant harm. The Council told Mrs X the following day that it would be holding a Child Protection Conference to discuss this.
21. Mrs X’s MP wrote to the Council on 4 September 2020, saying she did not understand why the Council was holding a Child Protection Conference. The Council responded to the MP on 7 September 2020 explaining that the threshold for initiating a Child Protection Conference had been met.
22. The Council held the conference virtually on 23 September 2020. Mrs X, Ms B and professionals from the Council’s education services department attended. It decided Y would again be placed on a Child Protection Plan and Mrs X would undergo a parenting assessment.
23. Following the conference Mrs X complained to the Council that she was not given the opportunity to have her say. She raised multiple complaints and questions regarding the way the Child Protection Conference was held. Amongst other things, she said the Council should not have initiated a parenting assessment and the chair of the meeting had walked away whilst she was speaking.
24. Mrs X said Ms B did not prepare her for the Child Protection Conference and made false allegations in her assessments of Mrs X’s parenting. She said she would not work with Ms B again and asked for another social worker. She also said she would not work with a male social worker as it would cause Y distress. She later submitted a 44 page document outlining her concerns. The Council acknowledged Mrs X’s complaint and advised it would attempt to find a new social worker for her.
25. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint on 15 October 2020 and addressed each of her concerns. The Council advised it based its decision to hold a Child Protection Conference on the information discussed at the strategy meeting and ongoing concerns it had been unable to gain access to Y. The Council said it was the collective opinion of all professionals who attended the conference that a parenting assessment was necessary to identify the support the Council could offer her. The Council said the chair of the meeting had briefly walked away to charge the battery on her laptop and apologised for any offence caused. The Council confirmed it would continue with the safeguarding proceedings.
26. On 2 November 2020, the Council told Mrs X it intended to issue court proceedings regarding Y’s care and it would not consider any new complaints about these issues until proceedings had ended. On 16 November 2020, Mrs X sent an email to her SPOC stating she was unhappy with the Council’s summary of her statements. The Council invited Mrs X to provide details of the amendments she wished to make and said it would add them alongside her file.
27. On 1 December 2020 the Council told Mrs X it had taken account of her preference for a female social worker but the only full-time social worker available was Mr W. The Council offered to provide Mrs X with a photograph of the social worker to enable Y to feel more comfortable. Mrs X declined this. On 14 December the Council told Mrs X it had allocated another two social workers to Mrs X. Mrs X advised she had previously told the Council she would not work with either social worker because they had lied about her in the past. Mrs X asked for another social worker that she had worked with previously, but the Council said this social worker was not available.
28. The Council said, “We have taken note of the issues you have raised…it is not possible to meet all your requests in respect of the allocated social worker. Mr W is fulltime and has a great deal of experience; if you reconsider your preferences for a female worker given the circumstances you have described, we can support this. We can also review the situation should personnel/resourcing changes take place within the team. ”
29. The Council would not accept further complaints about the child protection conference, so Mrs X brought her complaint to us.
30. In response to our enquiries, the Council said Mrs X has now refused to work with any of its social workers. Prior to this the Council confirmed it found it difficult to find social workers who would agree to work with Mrs X because of the complaints she has made.
31. The Council said all complaints regarding safeguarding from Mrs X are currently on hold whilst court proceedings are underway. If, following the proceedings there are any matters which have not been addressed as part of the legal process, the Council will consider these matters via its complaints process. The Council advised it has been overwhelmed by Mrs X’s frequent contact and it is concerned Mrs X is using the complaints process to disrupt and delay the Council’s attempts to safeguard Y.

Findings

32. Mrs X complained the Council failed to replace the social worker she had complained about. Whilst Mrs X is entitled to request a change in social worker, the Council is not required to grant this request. The evidence shows the Council offered Mrs X different social workers several times after she has complained about them. The Council also took Mrs X’s gender preferences into account. These were reasonable actions for the Council to take. Mrs X has refused the social workers the Council has offered because of past issues. This does not constitute fault on the Council’s part. There is no fault in the Council’s actions.
33. Mrs X remains unhappy with the way the Council held the Child Protection Conference. The evidence shows the Council responded to the complaint Mrs X raised about this. Having reviewed the evidence, I am satisfied the Council provided thorough, detailed and well thought out responses to the numerous concerns Mrs X listed. The Council did so despite the fact Mrs X did not keep to the restrictions the Council set for her. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council responded nor in how the conference was run. There is no fault in the Council’s actions.
34. Mrs X further complained the Council would not deal with her complaints about the Child Protection Conference. The Council has previously told Mrs X it may not respond to complaints if they were repetitions of historic complaints. Having reviewed the evidence, I can see Mrs X raised many questions and concerns that the Council has previously addressed. I am therefore satisfied that the Council has acted in line with its policy. The Council has also told Mrs X it will investigate any new complaints she wishes to raise after the court proceedings have finished. The Council has been clear in giving Mrs X a timescale for when it will deal with her new complaints. The Council has acted reasonably and I do not find fault with this aspect of the complaint.

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Final decision

35. There was no fault in the Council’s actions. I have completed the investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman