Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions when members of the complainants’ family were taken into care. This is because the Council has agreed our recommendation to provide a remedy for part of the complaint. It is reasonable for Mr & Mrs X to raise the remaining issues with Social Work England, which is better placed to consider concerns about an individual social worker.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council:
1. Failed to follow correct procedures when members of her family were taken into care.
2. Failed to keep Mr & Mrs X updated or to answer their queries about the children’s welfare and how to contact them.
3. Provided conflicting information about procedures and Mr & Mrs X’s legal rights.
2. Mrs X says this has caused them distress. They are seeking an explanation from the Council of why any failings occurred.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainants and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
7. The complainants provided comments on my draft decision. Because of these comments, I have included another recommendation, which has been agreed with the Council.

Back to top

My assessment

8. The Council contacted Mr & Mrs X in April 2021 to ask if they would consider parenting the children of Mrs X’s estranged family member, as they had been taken into care. In June 2021, Mr & Mrs X told the Council they had decided not to parent the children. They sought further information from the Council about the children’s welfare and how to contact the children. Mrs X chased these enquiries multiple times via emails, phone calls, and a complaint submitted in August 2021. The Council resolved this in November 2021 following the appointment of a new social worker.
9. The Council partially upheld the complaint, apologised, and accepted fault for the delay and failure to provide updates. The Council says this was due to staff absence. We recommended the Council offer a remedy to the complainants to acknowledge injustice caused by the faults it had identified. The Council has accepted our recommendation.
10. The remedy offered relates to the actions of the Council. Many of the issues raised by Mr & Mrs X are about the actions of an individual social worker. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Mr & Mrs X have concerns about the professional conduct of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect them to report this to the professional body, Social Work England.

Back to top

Agreed actions

11. We recommended the Council takes the following actions:
1. Pay the complainants £200 to recognise the distress and time and trouble caused by the Council’s failure to properly communicate with them. The Council should pay this within four weeks of our final decision.
2. Review its current processes to ensure email inboxes and voice messages can be checked when officers are absent. The Council should confirm these processes are in place within two months of our final decision.
12. When providing comments on our draft decision, Mr and Mrs X said they were still unclear about communication with the children. Mr & Mrs X say they sent photos and gifts to the children in June and July. They say their first social worker told them the children had received these, and the Council confirmed this during the complaints process. However, they say in December 2021 their new social worker carried out an assessment and told them they legally should not have had any contact with the children prior to this assessment. Mr & Mrs X want to know whether the children received their gifts and messages and if this was correct and in line with their legal rights regarding contact with the children. We therefore recommended the Council takes the following additional action:
1. Ensure it answers the complainants’ query about conflicting information from the Council within four weeks of our final decision. If explained in writing, the Council should offer the complainants the opportunity to discuss this verbally if needed to aid understanding.
13. The Council has accepted and agreed to action these recommendations.

Back to top

Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has agreed our recommendation to provide a remedy for part of the complaint. It is reasonable for Mr & Mrs X to raise the remaining issues with Social Work England, which is better placed to consider concerns about an individual social worker.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman