Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not tell him about a child protection investigation concerning his son. The Council accepts it acted with fault and has offered Mr X a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not tell him when it started a child protection investigation concerning his son in 2017 and that it did not involve him in the process. He said the Council then unreasonably refused to consider his complaint about its actions.
2. Mr X said this caused him distress and affected his mental health. He wanted the Council to explain its actions, apologise, and compensate him.

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What I have investigated

3. I consider Mr X complained at the first reasonable opportunity. I therefore investigated events dating back to the Council’s first enquiries in 2017.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

7. As part of the investigation, I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council.
• The Children Act 1989.
8. Mr X 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

Child in Need

9. Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 says councils must safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.
10. A child is in need if:
• they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development unless the council provides support;
• their health or development is likely to be significantly impaired unless the council provides support; or
• they are disabled.

Child Protection

11. Under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, where a council has reasonable cause to suspect that a child in their area is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, it has a duty to make such enquiries as it considers necessary to decide whether to take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare. Such enquiries should be initiated where there are concerns about abuse or neglect.
12. Anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should make a referral to children’s social care.
13. The council should make initial enquiries of agencies involved with the child and family, for example, health visitor, GP, schools, and nurseries. The information gathering at this stage enables the council to assess the nature and level of any harm the child may be facing. The assessment may result in:
• no further action;
• a decision to carry out a more detailed assessment of the child’s needs; or
• a decision to convene a strategy meeting.
14. The child and family must be informed of the action to be taken and every assessment must be informed by the views of the child as well as the family.

Statutory complaints procedures

15. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance (the guidance), ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
16. Section 3.3 of the guidance discusses the time limit for making a complaint. Section 3.3.1 states:

‘Local authorities do not need to consider complaints made more than one year after the ground to make representations arose (regulation 9). In these cases, the Complaints Manager should write to advise the complainant that their complaint cannot be considered and explaining the reasons why he had adopted that position’.

What happened

17. I have summarised below some of the key events leading to Mr X’s complaint. This is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place. Some of the events complained about are confidential and involve third parties. These matters have been omitted.
18. Mr X’s son, Y, lives with Mrs Z, who is Mr X’s ex-wife. Mr X keeps regular contact with Y and looks after him some weekends. In 2016, the Council was alerted the police were investigating Mrs Z’s partner, Mr R, about alleged sexual offences. One of the allegations involved a minor, but this was not Y.
19. The Council started enquiries under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, to learn about Mr R’s relationship with Y and to assess any potential risk.
20. After meeting and discussing the allegations with Mrs Z, the Council was satisfied Y was not at risk and had only limited contact with Mr R. The police did not charge Mr R with any offences at that time, and the Council decided it was safe to take no further action. The Council did not tell Mr X about the allegations or seek his input.
21. In June 2020, the Council learnt the police had charged Mr R with sexual offences against children. Mr R was still in a relationship with Mrs Z at regularly stayed at her home.
22. The Council started an assessment of the family, produced a child in need plan for Y, and opened a child protection enquiry under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.
23. The Council interviewed Mr X as part of the process. Mr X did not express any concerns about Y living with Mrs Z.
24. The Council was satisfied Y was not suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, so it ended its child protection enquiry on 30 June.
25. The Council continued its assessment of the family, including updating Y’s child in need plan. It completed a family safety plan in October before closing the case.
26. After the Council closed its investigation, Mr X learned about the first family assessment in 2017. He was unhappy about the content of the assessment, which he said contained errors. He was also unhappy the Council had not included him in the process or made him aware of the allegations. Mr X therefore complained to the Council.
27. The Council said it could not look into Mr X’s complaint because the issues raised are over a year old and are exempt from investigation. It referred to section 3.3.1 of the guidance and said the issues are outside the Council’s remit to investigate.
28. Mr X therefore brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

29. Assessments under the Children Act 1989 must involve the child and their family. The Council did not involve Mr X in its family assessment in 2017, despite Mr X being in regular contact with Y. That was fault.
30. In response to my enquiries about the complaint, the Council said its first investigation in 2017 focused on Mrs Z, Mr R, and Y. However, the Council recognised it should have told Mr X about the investigation. The Council also said although it involved Mr X in the investigation in 2020, it accepts it should have involved him in 2017.
31. The guidance on complaints about children’s social services states councils do not need to consider complaints made more than a year after grounds for making representations arose. However, the guidance does not say councils cannot or must not consider such complaints. The Ombudsman expects councils to consider whether they should exercise discretion based on the circumstances. The Council accepts it should have responded to Mr X’s complaint here.

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Agreed action

32. In response to my investigation, the Council offered to apologise to Mr X and pay him £500 to recognise the distress its actions caused.
33. I consider the Council’s offer to be a suitable remedy. The Council agreed to complete those actions within four weeks of my final decision.

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Final decision

34. I have completed my investigation. The Council accepts it acted with fault and has offered Mr X a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman