Summary: The Council was not at fault for how its hardship service handled Miss X’s request for financial support. Neither its correspondence with her nor its referral to its children’s social care service were so obviously unreasonable that they amounted to maladministration.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Miss X, contacted the Council in 2023 for financial support. This was offered by the Council under its ‘client hardship scheme’.
2. Miss X complains that the Council:
• Made “aggressive demands for additional documents” and threatened to close her application if she didn't provide them (even though she had explained why certain documents were not available (as her telephone was broken)).
• Refused to provide any support without input from a health visitor or social worker, which Miss X did not want or need.
• Referred her to children’s services without any evidence of a child being at risk, and without her consent.
3. Miss X also complains that the Council’s children’s services team provided some incorrect information to the client hardship service – that her ex-partner was still living with her – which made the situation worse.
4. Miss X says this matter caused her distress, which aggravated her pre-existing mental health condition.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Miss X and the Council. I also considered the statutory guidance on children’s safeguarding, ‘Working together to safeguard children’.
7. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s responsibilities

8. Anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should consider whether a referral needs to be made to the council’s children’s social care team. They should do this immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to do so. (Working together to safeguard children)
9. The Data Protection Act 2018 supports the sharing of relevant information to keep children safe. It is not necessary to seek consent to share information for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of a child, provided that there is a lawful basis for doing so. (Working together to safeguard children)

What happened

10. In late November, Miss X asked the Council’s hardship service for help. She said she had no telephone, so could not access her bank statements. She said she would try and provide them as soon as possible.
11. The Council told Miss X that it had ordered her a new telephone (which would arrive that day). It asked her to try and access her bank statements when she received the telephone. It said her application would be withdrawn if she did not provide all relevant documents within the next day.
12. The Council also sent Miss X a £10 food voucher and said it could do no more without receiving the documents.
13. The following day, Miss X provided some documents. The Council then recorded that it had concerns about her and her baby. It noted that:
• She had no food and had a broken phone.
• She had no support from friends, family or professionals.
• Her benefits statement showed that her money was going to her ex-partner.
14. The Council notified its children’s social care service about its concerns and told Miss X it had done so. It told her what it was worried about and said it could not help her financially until it saw her bank statements. She said she would send them within the hour. She also refused any referrals for social work support.
15. The Council then provided financial support to Miss X. And its children’s social care service team did not take the matter further, citing Miss X’s lack of consent.
16. The Council apologised to Miss X for some confusion around her living situation with her ex-partner (which was caused by incorrect information held by children’s services). It also explained the concerns it had had about her living situation and its duty to ensure she and her baby were safe.

My findings

17. The Council’s emails to Miss X clearly told her what it needed from her and relayed the consequences should she not provide the right documents. This meant she knew how to access financial support – and did so.
18. Although I recognise that Miss X was offended by the tone of some of the Council’s correspondence, this is a highly subjective matter and does not amount to maladministration.
19. Although the Council clearly felt concerned about Miss X’s situation – and thought a referral to children’s services was appropriate – the offer of financial support was not contingent on her accepting social work input. In fact, Miss X refused this input but still got the financial support.
20. Although Miss X was understandably upset by the referral to children’s services, this does not mean the Council was at fault for referring her.
21. Anyone who is worried about a child being at risk of harm should contact children’s social care immediately, and consent from the child’s parent is not needed to do so.
22. This was a judgment call by the Council officer, based on her interpretation of the evidence she had seen, and I will not question it.
23. The information shared by children’s services with the Council’s hardship service – which may have been out of date – did not cause Miss X an injustice. This is because it did not influence either the referral or the provision of financial support. And the Council has already apologised.
24. If Miss X remains of the view that the Council holds information about her which is inaccurate, she has the right (under the Data Protection Act) to ask it to rectify this information. If she does so, and is unhappy with the Council’s response, she can approach the Information Commissioner’s Office with her concerns.

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Final decision

25. The Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman