Council handled parent's concerns poorly - watchdog

Telford and Wrekin Council said it accepted the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's recommendations

A council showed poor communication and complaint handling when dealing with concerns that a child had been radicalised online, a watchdog has found.

Telford and Wrekin Council was contacted by a parent and a school in late 2022, after concerns around the child's beliefs and the language they used.

The parent complained about the lack of communication from the council as at one point, they had not heard back for eight weeks.

The local authority offered £200 and apologised for the time and trouble spent chasing the complaint response.

Excluded

However, the parent was still not happy, so contacted the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) to look into how it was handled.

One issue the parent had was that the child was excluded for a week because of their behavour, while the parent was in communication with the council about support for the child.

The parent said these support services could have stopped the exclusion, if the council had responded more quickly.

At the time, the council officer said a senior officer would look at the case and call them back, although no timescale was given.

Following multi-agency involvement, including the police, it was decided the child was vulnerable and would benefit from early help.

However, from that point, the parent claimed there was still a lack of communication from the council.

“The council accepts there was evidence of poor communication when its officers promised updates and call backs,” said the LGO.

“The council acknowledges that was not always carried out and caused [the parent] frustration and time and trouble".

It added that the council had already made service improvements and shown evidence it had reminded relevant staff of these improvements.

“This is an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused to [the parent]. No further recommendations were needed.”

A spokesperson for Telford and Wrekin Council said it accepted the LGO's decision and that the council had already "put in place improvements to specific customer processes in response to this complaint".