Overview
The complainant (Ms C) relocated from Renfrewshire to North Lanarkshire in October 2006. She complained that Renfrewshire Council (Council 1) failed to follow their own stated procedures when transferring her social work case file to North Lanarkshire Council (Council 2). Ms C felt that Council 1 delayed the transfer process unnecessarily and failed to provide complete information to Council 2, disrupting her transition into her new area.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that Council 1 failed to carry out Ms C's social work case transfer in:
- (a) accordance with their own procedures (upheld); and
- (b) a timely manner (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that Council 1:
- (i) introduce procedures to ensure that any requests for action on a service user's case file are proactively pursued to completion; and
- (ii) formally apologise to Ms C for the anxiety and disruption caused by their handling of her social work case transfer.
Council 1 have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.