London Borough of Hillingdon (19 000 165)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 21 May 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about comments made by a social worker in a report. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because it is unlikely the Ombudsman could add to the Council’s response.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, says the Council made false statements about her in a social care report. She wants the Council to remove the false allegations and apologise.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe:
  • it is unlikely we would find fault, or
  • it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
  • it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I read the report which contains the comments. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

  1. A social worker did a family assessment. In her report the social worker stated that Mrs X had said that she had a history of abusing drugs and alcohol but now had a healthy lifestyle which was free of drugs and alcohol. The social worker went on to record that Mrs X was alert and positive and there was no evidence she was abusing drugs or alcohol. The social worker made other positive comments about Mrs X in the report.
  2. Mrs X complained to the Council and said she has never abused drugs or alcohol. She asked the Council to remove the comments.
  3. In response the Council said it would not remove the comments because the social worker said the comments were based on information provided by Mrs X during a conversation. The Council pointed out that the social worker had said there was no evidence of current substance abuse.
  4. Mrs X wants the comments removed. She wants the Council to explain where the information came from and she wants an apology.

Assessment

  1. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. This is because the Council has explained how and why the social worker included the comment and why the Council will not remove it.
  2. Mrs X denies the allegation and denies telling the social worker she has previously used drugs or alcohol. I have no reason to doubt what Mrs X says but, equally, there is no reason for me to question the social worker’s statement. In the absence of any independent, third party witnesses, I cannot say the Council is wrong or ask it to remove the comment.

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Final decision

  1. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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