West Sussex County Council has paid a father £200 after a delay in carrying out a risk assessment meant he did not see his baby son for 12 weeks.
A report from the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman said the risk assessment formed part of a child protection plan drawn up by the council after police were called to an argument between the man – known as Mr X – and the baby’s mother, when the child was less than a year old.
After receiving a complaint from Mr X about the lack of contact with his son, the council accepted that there had been a delay and that several appointments with the child’s social worker had been cancelled.
On top of that, the father had not been involved in meetings concerning his son.
The report said:
“The council offered an apology and said it had fallen short of expected standards.”
The Ombudsman felt the council’s apology had not been enough, given the ‘injustice’ meted upon Mr X – and the authority agreed to pay £200 to remedy the fault.
A spokesman for the council said:
“We accept the Ombudsman’s findings and we have formally apologised to the individual for a delay in carrying out a risk assessment for his child, for failing to invite him to meetings and for the way his complaint was handled.
“We accept these actions fell short of our usual standards and we have also offered the individual the financial remedy indicated in the report.
“Keeping children safe is always our highest priority, and as the Ombudsman’s report makes clear, there is no evidence that the child was put at risk through the actions of our staff.”
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