Case 200800881 - Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

Summary

Mr and Mrs A complained about the manner in which Social Services had dealt with the placement of Mrs A’s grandchildren with them. They had understood that they would get ongoing financial support but this was never forthcoming. Mrs A also complained about the lack of supervision and support provided by Social Services. They felt that they had been left very much to deal with matters on their own. They had subsequently applied for a residence order for the children to remain with them and felt that the Council should pay them a residence order allowance towards the children’s upkeep.

The Council stated that the children had gone to live with Mr and Mrs A as part of a private family arrangement and therefore financial support for the children was provided by the Welfare Benefits system in the form of tax credits and child benefit. It had given a one-off payment of £4000 to the family towards their housing costs to reflect their circumstances.

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint. The Ombudsman did not accept that it was a private arrangement within the family. There were serious concerns of abuse at the time, which the Council failed to investigate in line with statutory Child Protection Procedures. This was serious maladministration. However, the Ombudsman acknowledged that the Council had taken action to safeguard the children’s welfare by placing them with Mr and Mrs A. As the Council had not followed Child Protection Procedures, there was a lack of clarity about the children’s status. The Council’s record keeping was also poor. The Ombudsman was of the view that the evidence indicated that the children were placed with Mr and Mrs A by the Council and were therefore ‘looked after’ children and should have been treated as such. He recommended that the Council pay Mr and Mrs A the difference between what they received in benefits for the children and the fostering allowances that would have been paid by the Council for the period before the residence order was obtained, in addition to a further payment for the other identified shortcomings. The Ombudsman partly upheld Mr and Mrs A’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to pay them an ongoing residence order allowance, in recognition of the fact that the decision should have been taken from the standpoint of the children being ‘looked after’. However, the Ombudsman accepted that Residence Order Allowances were discretionary payments and the Council had taken account of the family’s individual financial circumstances in reaching its decision not to make ongoing payments.

Case 200800881 - Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (PDF: 405.58Kb)

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