Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of child protection action relating to the complainant’s family. This is because investigation would not achieve the outcomes he is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council was at fault in the conduct of child protection action relating to his family.

Back to top

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 cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

5. Mr X’s children were the subject of child protection action by the Council. Mr X contends that the Council’s social worker failed to make factual corrections to the assessment she carried out and that this failure was material to the decision to make the children subject to child protection plans (CPPs). He also argues that the decision to accept information at the Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC) without prior notice was inappropriate, and was material to the outcome.
6. Mr X regards the decision to make the children subject to CPPs as flawed, and says it led to unwarranted intrusion in his family’s life causing significant distress and loss of earnings.
7. In settlement of the complaint, Mr X wants a letter written by the ICPC chair withdrawn and the decision to make CPPs removed from the Council’s records. He also wants the practise of the Council’s social worker to be investigated, and financial compensation for loss of earnings during the period.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because investigation would not lead to the outcomes he wants. The fact that the children remain subject to Child in Need Plans supports the view that the Council’s intervention was warranted. Even if the Children and Family Assessment and the ICPC were flawed, it does not follow that the decision to make the children subject to CPPs was wrong, and investigation would not be able to conclude that the outcome would necessarily have been different. We cannot therefore criticise the decision to make CPPs. That being the case, the intrusion into the life of the family and the resulting loss of earnings do not demonstrably flow from fault on the Council’s part.
9. The Ombudsman will not ask a council to remove or alter information on its records. Such records reflect the position at the time they were produced. The most we would normally seek is that a statement of the complainant’s dissenting views are placed on the record. Mr X’s complaint already forms part of the record of the case and our intervention is not therefore warranted. If Mr X believes the records contain false information, his recourse is to pursue his right to rectification.
10. Whether the social worker’s practise requires investigation is not a matter for the Ombudsman. We cannot investigate whether 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.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because investigation would not lead to the outcomes he is seeking.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman