The council has paid out £2,500 in compensation over its mishandling of allegations of historical sexual abuse against a male foster carer.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ordered the payout after it deemed the council’s subsequent apology following the foster couple, Mr and Mrs X’s, complaint had been mainly upheld.

Mr and Mrs X were foster carers employed by the council in 2020. The couple complained to the council in April of that year about how the authority had handled allegations against Mr X of historical sexual abuse.

They asked the council to proceed straight to stage two of the children’s statutory procedure, because of the complex nature of their complaint.

The council upheld the majority of their complaints at stage two but "had not offered a suitable remedy", said the Ombudsman. 

“The council was at fault,” the Ombudsman said in his report.

“The remedy the council offered for the upheld parts of the complaint was insufficient. 

“During our investigation, it revised its position and has now offered Mr and Mrs X £2,500 as a remedy for the injustice caused. 

“This is an appropriate offer and in line with our guidance on remedies. It will now make this offer to Mr and Mrs X.”

The council had acknowledged their complaint in May 2020. It said there would be a delay responding due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mrs and Mrs X’s complaint was investigated under the council’s children’s statutory complaints procedure.

The council said Mr and Mrs X agreed the complaint statement in May 2020 but asked for an additional point of complaint to be added in October 2020.

It provided a stage two complaint response in February 2021.

It apologised for the delay completing the investigation.

It upheld the majority of their complaint including:

  • It had taken too long to conclude its investigation and provide Mr and Mrs X with an outcome;
  • Its communication could have been more effective;
  • It had failed to acknowledge or implement its duty of care towards Mrs X as an employee;
  • It had failed to keep proper records so was unable to provide these to Mr and Mrs X when requested; and
  • It had delayed reviewing the arrangements for Mr X to see his grandchildren.

The council apologised for the upheld parts and accepted the way the council had handled the case did not always meet its expected standards.

The council said it would consider financial reimbursement for some accommodation costs incurred by Mr and Mrs X. It said it would not consider compensation for Mrs X’s loss of earnings or early retirement and if Mr and Mrs X wanted to pursue this, this would be through a court claim. 

It also said any compensation for trauma or distress caused by the council’s actions would need to be through a court claim. It set out actions it was taking to learn from the complaint and improve its services.

The council told them of their right to request a stage three review if they remained dissatisfied.

The Ombudsman said: “Mr and Mrs X were unhappy with the response.

"After discussion with the council, both parties agreed to bring the complaint to us as an early referral. 

“This was because although the council upheld most of the complaints, Mr and Mrs X were dissatisfied with the remedy the council had offered.

"The council said it did not accept it should pay Mr and Mrs X compensation for loss of earnings. 

“It said a stage three review would not change its position on this and so could not achieve the outcome Mr and Mrs X were seeking.

“In response to my enquiries, the council said it had reviewed its position on a remedy offer for the distress caused by the upheld parts of complaint. It said it now accepted a financial remedy for this was appropriate.

"It said it would offer Mr and Mrs X a total of £2,500 comprised of:

  • £250 for the distress caused by delay in complaint handling;
  • £2,000 for the distress caused by the upheld parts of complaint; and
  • £250 for the time and trouble taken to raise the complaint.

A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “The council accepts the Ombudsman’s findings in this case and as the decision makes clear, we have since taken action to improve our services and ensure that lessons are learned.

“In the three years since the complaint was made, Trafford’s Children’s Services have been completely restructured, with a new leadership team and processes now in place. The wellbeing of our children and families is always our priority and we are constantly striving to improve practice and outcomes.”