The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about children services actions. It is unlikely we could achieve the outcomes she seeks.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about a children social worker’s actions and the Council’s child protection actions.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council’s children services team held a child protection conference to discuss the health and wellbeing of Miss X’s children.
A council calls a Child Protection Conference (CPC) if a multi-agency strategy meeting decides the concerns raised by a safeguarding referral and assessed by a social worker, are substantiated and the child is likely to suffer significant harm.
The CPC decides what action is needed to safeguard the child. This may include a recommendation a Child Protection Plan is implemented to support the child.
After the Initial CPC, there will be one or more Review CPCs. These consider progress on action taken to safeguard the child and whether the Child Protection Plan should be maintained, amended, or discontinued.
Review CPCs should be held within three months of the initial conference, and then at maximum intervals of six months.
The CPC is a multi-agency body and is not in itself a body in the Ombudsman's jurisdiction.
The CPC plays an advisory role. The final decision, for example whether to place a child on a Child Protection Plan or to end a Plan, is the Council’s responsibility. We would generally consider it right for a council to follow the recommendations of the CPC unless there was good reason not to.
Here the CPC recommended a child protection plan and the Council agreed. Miss X says the social worker provided inaccurate and unfair information. She believes the social worker should be removed from their role. She says the social worker threatened to remove her children if Miss X did not do as the Council asked.
Miss X complained in April 2022. She included that allegations in Court about fabricated illness syndrome were unfounded. The Council replied in June. It said a Review CPC had in May decided the child protection plan should remain. Miss X disagrees with this decision. The Council agreed to change the social worker, so the one whom Miss X had made allegations against was no longer on the family’s case.
Miss X remained unhappy. She says the child protection decisions and actions need a proper review.
Analysis It is unlikely our investigate could achieve anything further for Miss X because: We cannot investigate Council evidence or opinion given on fabricated illness syndrome to a Court.
We cannot deregister the social worker.
Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect her to report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England.
We are unlikely to criticise the Council’s decision to have a child protection plan.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we are unlikely to achieve the outcomes she seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman