Milton Keynes Council (25 005 637)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 01 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the accuracy of information the Council provided to his child’s school. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council provided incorrect information to his child, Y’s, school about his bail conditions. He says this led the school to deny him contact with Y and the matter caused him and Y distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In its complaint response, the Council acknowledged the social worker should not have told Y’s school that Mr X could not collect Y without agreement from Y’s mother. It acknowledged this could have been distressing for Mr X and Y. It said it had discussed the matter with the social worker as a learning point.
- If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because although the complaint response acknowledges fault and that this could have caused Mr X distress, it does not offer a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.
- We therefore invited the Council within two weeks of this decision, to write to Mr X to apologise for the distress caused. The Council has agreed to our request.
Agreed action
- Within two weeks of the final decision, the Council will write to Mr X to apologise for the distress caused by the inaccurate information it provided to Y’s school.
Final decision
- We have upheld Mr X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman