News

A man who complained that Birmingham Council failed to safeguard his three children while they were being looked after by his former partner has had his complaint upheld by the local government ombudsman.

In what she describes as a "profoundly disturbing case", Patricia Thomas found that the social services duty team persistently failed to investigate numerous allegations.

The ombudsman found that all three children experienced significant neglect and some of the ill-treatment could have been avoided if the children were removed sooner.

The concerns expressed by the man and his children's school were "largely ignored", no proper investigation was carried out and no social worker was assigned to the family, the ombudsman concluded.

The attitude of staff towards the man was "inexcusable". Thomas found that the council's failure was one of maladministration.

The council has agreed to pay the complainant £2,000 as well as payments to the children, which will be held in trust until they are 18.