The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s child protection action. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.
The complaint
Ms X said the Council made an illegal use of s.47 of the Children Act 1989.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Councils with child protection duties must consider any safeguarding referral they receive. S.47 of the Children Act 1989 requires only that they find reason to suspect that a child may be at risk of serious harm or suffering actual harm. That is a deliberately low threshold that allows councils to take the action they deem necessary to protect a child, with or without parental consent, following a referral. That a council may later decide not to make a child subject to a child protection measures does not automatically mean its initial decisions were faulty.
Ms X provided a copy of the referral form used by the Council. What her child’s school reported was such that the Council’s initial decision that the child might be at risk of significant harm was a matter of professional judgement, not fault. It was not for the Council to seek to reach a definitive view before starting child protection enquiries. Its subsequent decision that child protection was not necessary was similarly a matter of professional judgement. That Ms X takes a different view of the Council’s actions does not mean the Council acted with fault.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman