Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a child protection referral made regarding Ms X’s children. The Council operated the statutory children’s complaints process and offered Ms X a remedy for fault found. Were we to investigate, it is unlikely we would find fault with how the Council dealt with the complaint, or recommend further remedy.

The complaint

1. Ms X said a social worker wrongly hung up a phone call with her regarding a possible child protection matter, and the Council failed to call her back for two days. She said the Council intended from the beginning escalate the matter and a social worker then called unannounced at her home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council about its actions in response to a child protection referral. These concerned the content of a telephone call between Ms X and a social worker, a failure to call Ms X back, and a visit to the family home without warning by a social worker.
6. The Council used the statutory children’s complaints process to consider the complaint. This involves an investigation at the second stage overseen by a person independent of the Council. The third stage involves a panel that considers the conduct of the second stage investigation. We will only investigate a complaint subject to this process if we think there was fault in the process, or if we think the Council has failed to provide a remedy agreed where there is fault. Neither reason to investigate applies here.
7. I note the Council confirmed at the start of the complaints process that it had not found it necessary to take child protection action and had closed the case. This was six weeks after the events that gave rise to the complaint.
8. The Stage 2 investigation was confirmed by the independent person as having been properly conducted. I note the investigator stated Ms X’s complaint in her words and investigated the matters that came from it. The investigator was unable to reach a view about the content of a phone call. However, he found the Council failed to call Ms X back, which might have settled matters and/or removed the need for the home visit. He recommended the Council apologise for the failure to call Ms X back and for the stress the process had caused her.
9. Were we to investigate, we could not do more than uphold the upheld complaints. We would also no more likely to reach a view about the content of the phone call. That Ms X says all calls should be recorded does not affect that, and we would not be likely to recommend that the Council records and preserves recordings of all the calls it makes and receives.
10. The Stage 3 panel considered whether the Stage 2 investigation was properly conducted. The evidence before it meant it could do that, in spite of Ms X’s lack of confidence in the investigator. It recommended the Council apologise, as recommended by the Stage 2 investigator. The Council did so, adding a payment of £100 for upset caused.
11. There is no good reason for us to investigate this complaint. Doing so would be unlikely to add to the Council’s own investigation, or to find fault with its conduct of the statutory complaints process.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there was no fault in they the Council applied the statutory complaints process, and we would be unlikely to recommend further remedy than that already offered by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman