The Scottish Public Service Ombudsman has told Highland Council to apologise after removing a child without following correct procedures
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Highland Council have been told to apologise after it removed a child from its parental home without the necessary consent or paperwork.
In a report issued by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO) it said the local authority had to apologise to a parent after she complained the council had failed to follow its own child protection procedures.
In a report published by the SPSO the name of the complainer is given as C.
The report stated: "C complained about the council's social work department's handling of child protection concerns that were raised about their children and their subsequent removal from the family home.
"C was not at home at the time and said that they objected to the decision.
"C complained that their spouse also did not give consent to the children being removed and, therefore, the appropriate powers were not used to remove the children."
However the report continued: "The council said that they understood that C's spouse had given their verbal consent to the children's removal; however, they acknowledged there was a failure to prepare the necessary paperwork prior to visiting the children's home."
After receiving C's complaint the SPSO conducted an investigation into the case.
The report continued: "We reviewed the relevant case records and took independent social work advice.
"We found that there were failings to properly obtain consent, that there was confusion over the legislation being used to remove the children and that there was a failure to explain to either C or their spouse what the legislative framework was.
"We found that the council failed to follow their child protection procedures and, therefore, upheld the complaint."
The SPSO asked Highland Council to apologise to the parent for failure to "follow their child protection procedures".
It also recommended that the council should reflect on the findings of the investigation including a review of internal procedures and additional training for staff."
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “A full apology has been provided to the family and we have reflected and carried out an in-depth review and set out an improvement plan of action. The Council has provided evidence to the SPSO and recommendations by the SPSO have been carried out. We will continue to implement the improvement plan which will be fully reported to the Council’s Audit and Scrutiny Committee in due course.”
