Pembrokeshire County Council criticised in Ombudsman’s report

The BBC reports that a local authority, Pembrokeshire County Council  has been criticised for the way it investigated complaints that a young boy was left with a convicted child abuser. 

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales found the council to be slow at initiating child protection procedures.

How does the complaints system work in local authority children’s cases?

The National Health Services and Community Care Act 1990, section 50 amends the Local Authority (Social Services) Act 1970 and inserted a new section 7B which says that the Secretary of State may require local authorities to establish a complaints procedure. There does not appear to be any limitation to the kind of individual who can complain, as long as the complainant is receiving some kind of service from the local authority. 

 There are now complaints procedures and children’s rights officers which began to come into force in the nineties. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1999 is designed to encourage people to raise genuine concerns about malpractice in the workplace, including social services. 

The local authority complaints procedure comes under the Commission for Local Administration in England, the Local Government Ombudsman which was originally set up by the Local Government Act 1974. Full Details of the ombudsman’s scheme can be found at www.lgo.org.uk. A complainant against a local authority who has taken his complaint through the various stages of the local authority’s procedure can apply to the Ombudsman who will review the case. The Ombudsman deals with maladministration by a local authority. He cannot investigate certain matters, such as anything done by the local authority before 1974. Furthermore he cannot investigate the commencement or conduct of civil or criminal proceedings before a court. There are time limits, however it would appear that some local authorities are prepared to investigate an allegation of child abuse from years back.