The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complains the Council included inaccurate information in its pre-birth assessment. Ms X also complains about the professional conduct of her social worker, and that the Council unfairly began Public Law Outline (PLO) proceedings. I did not find fault in the Council’s actions to begin PLO proceedings or for comments made in its pre-birth assessment. Further, Ms X should go to Social Work England regarding her complaint about the professional conduct of her social worker.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council have included inaccurate information about her in its pre-birth assessment. Ms X says the information is defamatory and wants the Council to remove it. Ms X also complains about the professional conduct of her social worker and says the Council unfairly started PLO proceedings.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) The Ombudsman cannot investigate whether individual social workers are meeting their professional standards of conduct. Complaints of this nature should be referred to the social workers’ professional body, Social Work England.
How I considered this complaint
I spoke with Ms X and considered the complaint documents and information she provided. I made enquiries with the Council and considered its comments and the documents it sent. I considered comments made by Ms X and the Council in response to my draft decision.
Relevant Legislation Public Law Outline The Public Law Outline (PLO) sets out the duties councils have when, for example, they are considering taking a case to court to ask for a care order to take a child into care. This is often described as initiating public law care proceedings.
The PLO states that councils must identify concerns they have about a child early and, where possible, provide support for the family to address those concerns. This is pre-proceedings work. Usually when the PLO is initiated the child is already subject to a child protection plan but insufficient progress has been made.
The PLO states councils must send a letter to parents before proceedings to outline the main concerns and invite them to a meeting. The Letter Before Proceedings triggers free legal advice for parents.
The pre-proceedings meeting should take place within seven working days of the letter. The purpose of the letter is to identify whether it is possible to reach any agreement so court proceedings can be avoided.
The PLO states councils must hold a pre-proceedings review within 6-8 weeks of the meeting to clarify the way forward. The possible outcome of the review includes ending the PLO as progress has been made, continuing with pre-proceedings work or issuing care proceedings.
What happened PLO proceedings Ms X says the Council unfairly began PLO proceedings.
In February 2021, a referral was received from Midwifery, identifying the need for a social work assistant and prebirth assessment.
Later in February 2021, following an incident involving Mr Y, who is Ms X’s partner, a referral was also received from the ambulance service.
In April 2021, a recommendation for Initial Child Protection Conferences was made in social work assessment.
In May 2021, the Council issued a letter before proceedings. In this letter, the Council set out what would happen next, the concerns it had about the safety of her unborn child, and what it was doing to help.
In June 2021, the first PLO meeting was held.
Inaccurate information in pre-birth assessment Ms X says the Council included inaccurate information in its pre-birth assessment, specifically regarding references to an anxiety disorder and diagnosis of psychosis.
The Council undertook a pre-birth assessment in February 2021.
In the pre-birth assessment, there are several instances where anxiety is referenced, for example, it is said that Ms X ‘initially reported anxiety around being alone’.
In the Council’s assessment, the social worker stated that Ms X had ‘previously experienced psychosis’.
Ms X disputes this information; she says she does not have an anxiety disorder, nor has she been diagnosed with psychosis before. Ms X wants the Council to remove the pre-birth assessment from her record.
Conduct of social worker Ms X complains about the professional conduct of the social worker she was assigned. Ms X says the social worker: made comments about the suitability of her home, made excessive calls that put undue stress on her and her partner, made unprofessional and personal comments about her appearance and life, ignored her request for support about a government grant, gave her advice contrary to her doctors’ recommendation, unfairly documented that she was uncooperative, and disproportionately scored her lower than other professionals at the conference.
Ms X has since moved away from the area and responsibility has been transferred to another Council.
Analysis PLO proceedings I have not been able to establish the exact date of the Legal Strategy Meeting and I have not seen the legal advice shared due to legal privilege. The Council have shared their concerns and/or concerns about welfare and the threshold from within it.
The Council advised that their concerns and/or concerns about welfare were very poor home conditions, leading to the risk of neglect and potential physical harm. The Council also said that Ms X’s mental health posed a risk of neglect due to her inability to offer care whilst unwell. Identified was also the risk of emotional harm due to Ms X’s inability to interact appropriately with the child when unwell. The Council also said that as Mr Y acted as Ms X’s carer, there was a further risk of neglect due to being unable to focus on the baby.
The Council determined that given their concerns and/or concerns about welfare, there was clear evidence that Mr X and Mr Y were unable to meet their owns and would be unable to offer safe care to an unborn, and that the threshold for proceedings had been met.
Ms X says the Council unfairly began PLO proceedings but from the evidence available to me, there is nothing to suggest the Council did not follow the correct process. I understand that Ms X feels aggrieved by the Council’s decision to begin PLO proceedings as she feels it was unjustified, but it is not for our service to question decisions that have been made properly.
Inaccurate information in pre-birth assessment In response to Ms X’s complaint, the Council said it would place a copy of her complaint to be read alongside the assessment. This would mean that should the assessment be read in future; the reader could see the bits she disputes.
I could not see any evidence of the Council making an assertion that Ms X has an anxiety disorder. Whilst anxiety is mentioned in the assessment, these are references to Ms X telling the social worker that she has anxiety.
The Council says it did not state that Ms X had a diagnosis of psychosis. It provided a copy of its Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) Assessment where there are references to psychosis, specifically where it states that Ms X has ‘recent issues psychosis with medical transitions’. There is also reference to delusions suffered by Ms X which the Council acknowledges are symptoms that fall within psychosis.
The NHS states there are two main symptoms of psychosis; hallucinations and delusions. The NHS also state that experiencing the symptoms of psychosis is often referred to as having a ‘psychotic episode’.
Given the guidance provided by the NHS, I think the statement included within the pre-birth assessment is proportionate. The assessment does not say that Ms X has been diagnosed with psychosis but that she has previously experienced it. It can be said that there is a level of ambiguity in the statement and perhaps it would have been more suitable to have written that ‘Ms X had suffered symptoms commensurate with psychosis’. In any event, I believe the sentiment of the statement is the same.
If Ms X remains dissatisfied, she can ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to decide if the Council has met its Data Protection duties. The Council has duties under the Data Protection Acts to only hold accurate information, and Under Article 16 of the UK GDPR individuals have the right to have inaccurate personal data rectified Conduct of social worker Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Ms X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, she should report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England.
Final decision
I did not find fault in the Council’s decision to begin PLO proceedings. It followed the correct process, and it is not for our service to question decisions that have been made properly. Ms X should make a complaint to Social Work England for her concerns about the professional conduct of the social worker. Further, I have not found fault in comments made by the Council in its pre-birth assessment. If Ms X remains dissatisfied, she can ask the ICO to consider whether the Council has met its data protection duties.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman