Decision Report 201900986

Summary

C complained about the service provided by the council's social work service in connection with their child (A), who resided with their other parent. C was unhappy with the way the council facilitated contact between them and A, as well as C's other children and A.

We took independent advice from a social worker. For the period of time we considered, we found that the social work service should have engaged with C more proactively in relation to contact with A. We did not find any issues with the way the council managed contact between A and their siblings. On balance, we upheld C’s complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to C for the failure to engage with them more proactively in relation to contact with A. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• The social work service should engage and communicate with families effectively and in the best interests of the child.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Please note the events this complaint refers to may have occurred some time ago due to a delay in publication. We publish our findings to share learning and inform improvement.