Sandwell Council made 'unsubstantiated' claims about mother

Sandwell Council was told to apologise to the woman and pay her £250 for distress caused

A council has been forced to apologise and fined after making "unsubstantiated" claims about an asylum-seeker.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said Sandwell Council alleged the woman and organisation supporting her were out for financial gain and had sent "threatening and abusive emails".

It said there was no evidence of that and ordered the authority to apologise.

The council said it had taken on feedback from the investigation.

The ombudsman investigates complaints about local public services.

In its report, it said the woman had initially complained to Sandwell Council that it had placed her and her eight year-old son in "inappropriate accommodation".

Representatives from an organisation that was supporting her asylum claim were later barred from attending meetings between her and the council, the ombudsman said.

It added, on one occasion, the council threatened to call the police if her representatives did not leave her home when a meeting was being held.

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The ombudsman said, during its investigation, the council made "serious allegations" about the conduct of the mother and her representatives, including a social worker suggesting their actions were "financially motivated", but that the local authority could not back up the claims.

The social worker also claimed the organisation supporting the woman sent "threatening and abusive e-mails", but the ombudsman said emails provided to the investigation contained no language of that nature.

As well as calling for the apology, the ombudsman ordered Sandwell Council to pay the woman £250 to acknowledge the distress caused.

It also made a series of recommendations including reminding staff of families' rights to be accompanied to meetings by appropriate representatives, which Michael King, from the ombudsman, said he "strongly urged" the council take on.

In a joint statement, Sandwell Council and Sandwell Children's Trust said: "We have apologised to the person who made the complaint and have measures in place to prevent a similar situation occurring in the future."