The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with child safeguarding concerns. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr and Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with safeguarding concerns about their children. They said they were meeting their children’s needs and the Council was harassing them. They want the Council staff involved to resign.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council received a safeguarding referral for Mr and Mrs X’s children. That referral said their health needs were not being met.
The Council held a strategy meeting to discuss those concerns. That meeting was attended by the Police, health and education. The attendees of that meeting decided the threshold for child protection enquiries were met.
The Council allocated a Social Worker to complete an assessment. That assessment used a range of sources. It set out its concerns for the children. The Council decided to hold an Initial Child Protection Conference.
In the Council’s response to Mr and Mrs X’s complaint, it said there were difficulties with the Social Worker being able to meet them when it first became involved. It said the Social Worker had to make lots of attempts to meet with Mr and Mrs X. It recognised that it could be unsettling when Children’s Services were involved; however, explained it wanted to work with the family to achieve the best outcomes for their children. It did not uphold Mr and Mrs X’s complaints about the Council.
Although Mr and Mrs X are unhappy with the Council’s complaint response we will not investigate. The Council followed the correct steps after receiving the safeguarding referral. It considered all available information and followed the statutory guidance. Its assessment clearly sets out its reasons for its decision making. We would not consider the Council’s attempts to contact the family harassment. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman