Nottinghamshire County Council (18 016 189)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 15 Jul 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Ms X complains about how the Council handled safeguarding referrals about her children, and the Child in Need process. She complains the Council has not properly responded to her complaint. She says this has caused her distress. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Ms X, complains that:
      1. her children’s paternal grandmother, who has not been involved with the family for 18 years, was invited to a Child in Need meeting;
      2. the Child in Need plan had nothing to do with the children;
      3. the Child in Need process was not handled properly and should never have started;
      4. the Council said Ms X said her son is her full-time carer, which she disputes;
      5. the children’s paternal grandmother makes malicious safeguarding referrals, which the Council could deal with better; and,
      6. the Council has not properly responded to her complaint.
  2. Ms X says this has caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered the information and documents provided by Ms X and the Council. I spoke to Ms X about her complaint. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments before I reached a final decision.
  2. I have considered the relevant statutory guidance and policies, set out below.

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What I found

Guidance and policies

Safeguarding referrals and the Child in Need process

  1. The government publishes guidance on safeguarding children and promoting children’s welfare, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (regularly updated). This outlines the specific duties of different agencies working with children and families.
  2. The guidance stresses the importance of timeliness and sets out timescales that actions should be completed within. It says within one day of receiving a referral, a local authority should make a decision about the next steps and what kind of response is needed. This includes determining if the child needs immediate protection, if urgent action is needed, if the child is in need, and if there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.
  3. Once a decision has been made on what action is needed, the guidance says this should be followed by an assessment. Assessments should determine if the child is in need, what kind of services the child needs, and if specialist assessments are needed to help the local authority’s decision-making. The assessment should take no more than 45 days to complete.
  4. After this, the social worker should agree the next steps with the family and other professionals. This could be to agree a Child in Need plan or a Child Protection Plan. The social worker coordinates the provision of appropriate services.
  5. The next stage is to review the plan and the outcomes for the child. This could be referring the child for non-statutory services, a referral for more in-depth enquiries, or to close the case.
  6. If the plan is a Child in Need plan, the first review should be held within three months of the start of the plan. Further reviews should take place at least every six months after that.
  7. The Council publishes its safeguarding procedures on its website. This says that a Child in Need planning meeting must be convened within ten working days. It says that the social worker should agree with the family who should be invited from their family to attend the meeting.
  8. The Council’s safeguarding policy says Child in Need plans should be based on the identified needs of the child, and be focussed on the outcomes.

Complaints procedure

  1. The Council’s complaints procedure says it will respond to complaints within 20 working days, in most cases. If the complainant is not happy with the Council’s response, they can discuss the next steps with the complaints team.
  2. The procedure says that if a complainant remains dissatisfied once a complaint has completed the process, they can contact the Ombudsman.

What happened

  1. Ms X and her late-husband, Mr Y, have two children: M who is 17, and F who is seven. Ms X and Mr Y were separated.
  2. In February 2018, the Council received a referral about possible concerns for M and F. The Council decided to do an assessment. This was allocated to the assessment team the day after the referral was received.
  3. In March, the Council completed its assessment. Shortly after this, it held a Child in Need meeting. Both parents were invited to attend. Mr Y was not able to attend, so his mother (Mrs L) attended the meeting on his behalf.
  4. The meeting was held in two halves, with Ms X in the first half, and Mrs L in the second half.
  5. In April, the Council held a Child in Need review meeting where the Child in Need plan was ended.
  6. In December, Ms X complained to the Council. She said the Council lied about M being a full-time carer. She said the Council did not tell her Mrs L would be at the Child in Need meeting in March. She said she was unhappy with how the Council had treated her.
  7. In January 2019, the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint. It said Mr Y had asked the Council that his mother, Mrs L, attend the Child in Need meeting on his behalf.
  8. The Council said the meeting was held in two halves, with Ms X attending the first half of the meeting, and Mrs L attending the second half.
  9. The Council said there had been an anonymous referral in November 2018 which the Council assessed. It said it closed the case with no further action because there was no evidence of harm. The Council said it has a duty to explore the concerns raised regardless of where or who the referral comes from.
  10. Ms X called the Council and spoke to a complaints officer. The Council followed this up in writing. It said it could not investigate an allegation Ms X made about Mrs L stealing from her. The Council signposted Ms X to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Mrs L at the Child in Need meeting

  1. Ms X complains that Mrs L, who has not been involved with the family for 18 years, was invited to the Child in Need meeting in March 2018 (part a of the complaint).
  2. The Council’s complaint response said Mr Y had the right to ask someone to attend the meeting on his behalf. The Council said it was aware that Ms X had raised concerns about Mrs L before which is why the meeting was held in two halves. It said Mrs L was not in the meeting with Ms X.
  3. Ms X acknowledges that Mr Y asked for Mrs L to attend on his behalf. Ms X says the Council did not tell her Mrs L would be there.
  4. The Council says initially the social worker had agreed with Mr Y that she would visit him after the meeting and share the outcome with him, because he was too ill to attend. It says that on the day of the meeting Mr Y contacted the Council and asked that Mrs L attend the meeting on his behalf. The Council says it respected this request.
  5. The Council says that Ms X only asked that she did not sit in the same room as Mrs L. It says Ms X did not tell the social worker she did not want Mrs L there at all.
  6. The Council’s procedure says social workers should agree with the family which family members should be invited to the meeting. Up until the day of the meeting, the Council complied with this.
  7. Mr Y had a right to ask the Council for Mrs L to attend the meeting on his behalf. The Council respected this wish. Mr Y told the Council on the day of the meeting that he wanted Mrs L to attend.
  8. It is my view that there was insufficient opportunity for the Council to have told Ms X in advance that the plans had changed, and Mrs L would be attending on Mr Y’s behalf. For this reason, I do not find fault with the Council.
  9. The Council allowed Mrs L to attend on Mr Y’s behalf, and it allowed the meeting to be held in two halves so that Ms X did not have to sit in the same room as Mrs L. For this reason, I find that the Council acted appropriately and respected the wishes of both parents. Because of this, I do not find the Council at fault.

Child in Need plan

  1. Ms X complains that the Child in Need plan had nothing to do with the children (part b of the complaint).
  2. Ms X says all the Child in Need plan had in it was for her and her children to attend bereavement counselling. This was to prepare for when Mr Y passed away.
  3. Ms X says that she was not told that M and F would be referred for counselling for children with substance misusing parents. She says she stopped misusing alcohol in October 2017. She says M got a phone call from a counsellor ‘out of the blue’ and was upset by it.
  4. The minutes of the Child in Need meeting say that Ms X said the only support she and the children needed was counselling.
  5. The Child in Need plan includes access for counselling for M and F, social worker to visit both children and complete direct work with them every four to six weeks, to monitor Ms X’s alcohol misuse, and for both parents to identify family members to support Ms X and the children, including providing care for the children.
  6. I find that the main and central focus of the Child in Need plan was the children’s wellbeing, as it should have been, in line with the guidance and the Council’s own policy. The plan gave specific outcomes that relate to the identified risks and needs. I find that it was an entirely appropriate plan.
  7. The plan says that the children will be referred for counselling. It does not specify which agency or organisation would provide the counselling. I find that the Council acted in line with the Child in Need plan, and referred the children to a service that could provide the support the children needed. For this reason, I do not find the Council at fault.
  8. It is unfortunate that M was upset by the phone call. However, this is not evidence of fault by the Council.

Child in Need process

  1. Ms X complains that the Child in Need process was not handled properly and should never have started (part c of the complaint).
  2. Ms X thinks that the children were put on the Child in Need plan because Mr Y raised concerns about her alcohol misuse. She does not understand why the children were put on the plan.
  3. The Council says there has been a long history of referrals due to Ms X’s alcohol misuse and allegations of domestic violence between Ms X and Mr Y. It says the safeguarding concerns at the time the children were put on the plan were to do with how Ms X would support M and F when Mr Y (who was seen as a protective factor) passed away.
  4. The Council says there were also concerns about M providing some of F’s basic care when Ms Y was at work every weekday evening.
  5. The Council received the referral, completed an assessment, placed the children on a Child in Need plan, and then removed the children from the plan at the first review meeting. It did so because there was no evidence of Ms X misusing alcohol. It found the children were coping well, and Ms X and the children had access to specialist support services. For this reason, it identified no further need for social care involvement.
  6. I find that the Council followed the process within the timescales and in line with the guidance. I also find it acted in line with its own policy. There were no delays in the process. I find that the Council acted appropriately and proportionately. It did not keep the children on the plan for longer than necessary, and did not remove them from the plan earlier than necessary.
  7. For these reasons, I do not find the Council at fault.

Full-time carer

  1. Ms X complains that the Council said she had said M is her full-time carer, which she disputes (part d of the complaint).
  2. Ms X says she has never needed a carer, and M has never cared for her.
  3. The Council says concerns were raised about M caring for F, rather than for Ms X. It confirms that it has no records that say M was caring for Ms X.
  4. I find no evidence that the Council said Ms X said M was her full-time carer. For this reason, I do not find fault with the Council.

Malicious safeguarding referrals

  1. Ms X complains that Mrs L makes malicious safeguarding referrals, which the Council could deal with better (part e of the complaint).
  2. She says she has called the police about this. She says the police are writing to Mrs L to tell her to stop harassing Ms X. Ms X says Mrs L has not made any referrals to the Council since December 2018. Ms X says the Council should not ‘jump on’ these referrals.
  3. The Council has a duty to investigate all safeguarding referrals, regardless of where or who they come from. I do not find the Council at fault for exploring or investigating each referral it receives.

Complaint response

  1. Ms X complains that the Council has not properly responded to her complaint (part f of the complaint).
  2. Ms X says the Council ‘skirted around’ the issues she complained about, and did not give her proper answers. She is frustrated the Council did not answer her questions.
  3. I cannot find any evidence of unanswered questions. Ms X is not able to give me any examples of questions that remain unanswered.
  4. The Council’s response to her complaint explained its decision and actions.
  5. Ms X did not ask the Council to deal with her complaint at the next stage of its complaints procedure. The Council decided not to deal with Ms X’s complaint at the next stage. It says it was unclear how escalating the complaint would help Ms X because it was unlikely to have a different outcome.
  6. The Ombudsman agreed that this was an appropriate course of action in this case.
  7. The Council’s complaints procedure says if a complainant is not happy with the complaints response, they can discuss the next steps with the complaints team. This is what happened.
  8. I find the Council acted in line with its procedure. For this reason, I do not find fault with the Council.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation. I do not uphold Ms X’s complaint because I have found no evidence of fault in the Council's actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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