An investigation found there was ‘no fault’ by the council after it was accused of racism and mental health discrimination during a child protection case. 

Mr X alleged that mistakes made by Wokingham Borough Council caused harm to his child and affected his health, but the Local Government Ombudsman (LG0) found the claims had “insufficient evidence.”  

In 2019, the council received safeguarding referrals about his three children and estranged wife, referred to as Ms Y, from one of the children’s schools and a domestic abuse organisation. 

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The eldest child’s school attendance was low, and they had failed to attend appointments with NHS Mental Health Services, whilst Ms Y had reported psychological and financial abuse by Mr X. 

A council strategy meeting decided that a Child Protection Investigation should be completed. Concerns subsequently remained but social workers struggled to complete a safety plan. 

The case was referred to an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC) – a meeting which decides whether a child or young person(s) should be placed on a Child Protection Plan – which concluded that all three children should be. 

Mr X made several complaints about the council’s handling of the child protection process which were not upheld, including that that staff did not consider factors such as his family’s cultural background, autism and his mental health issues.  

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A report noted that neither Mr X nor his children had been diagnosed with autism at the time and there was “insufficient evidence” for other claims. 

Complaints by Mr X were upheld regarding information sharing – after it was found that he wasn’t shown the full social worker assessment until just before the ICPC – not receiving a response to a safeguarding email, and that he wasn’t provided a mental health advocate during the ICPC. 

The LGO noted that the council had already accepted fault and remedied it in an “appropriate” manner, therefore “no further fault” by the council was found. 

Executive member for children’s services, Councillor Prue Bray, said: “We accepted that some procedural faults identified in the complaint were valid and took steps to remedy these at the earliest possible opportunity. We are genuinely sorry that we fell short in these respects. 

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“However, we would strongly emphasise that neither our investigation nor the ombudsman’s found any evidence to support the more serious allegations put forward – including racism, mental health discrimination or any other form of prejudice against the complainant. 

“In fact, our own investigation into this matter was found to be ‘comprehensive and thorough’, while our timely apology for the matters where we accepted responsibility was considered appropriate given the ‘limited injustice’ that resulted. 

“We are committed to the principles of diversity, equality and inclusion and provide regular training to all staff to ensure this is reflected in how we treat everybody who lives or works in our borough.”