Derbyshire County Council (22 005 776)

Category : Children's care services > Child protection

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 23 Aug 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to the complainant’s concerns about the welfare of his son. This is because it is unlikely we would add anything significant to the investigation which has already been carried out.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council was at fault in its response to his concerns about the welfare of his son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Mr B shared care of his son with his son’s mother. He reported concerns about his son’s welfare to the Council. He complains that the Council failed to act on those concerns. Rather it focused on unsubstantiated allegations about his mental health. He complains that, as a result, the Council unreasonably placed restrictions on contact with his son.
  2. Mr B’s complaint has completed the three stages of the Council’s complaint procedure. Although it was upheld in part, the investigation did not find that the Council was at fault in the way it responded to Mr B’s concerns. It found that the Council’s officers had followed the proper steps in making the decision that Mr B’s concerns were not substantiated. Neither was significant fault identified in the Council’s response to concerns expressed about Mr B.
  3. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would add anything to the investigation which has already been carried out. The documents show the complaint was properly considered and Mr B had the opportunity to have input at the appropriate stages. His opinions therefore form part of the case records. The investigation’s conclusions appear reasonable and defensible. That being the case, there are no grounds for the Ombudsman to intervene.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would add anything significant to the investigation already carried out.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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