Council to say sorry over child’s interview

A CHILD was allowed to attend a police station for an interview without an adult present during a botched protection probe, a watchdog has found.

The youngster’s parents were also not fully informed of the nature of the concerns that had been raised against the kid’s dad by nursery workers in South Lanarkshire.

Council bosses have now been told to apologise to the man, who was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing by the investigation, and his wife.

The dad, known only as Mr C, raised a number of complaints with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and a recent ruling by the watchdog listed several errors on South Lanarkshire Council’s part.

As well as failing to give Mr C’s wife or someone else familiar to the child the chance to attend a Joint Investigative Interview – between police and social workers – it was found the accused had to formally write and complain to the council before he received official written confirmation he was cleared.

The SPSO also decided the interview had taken place before an initial referral discussion had been made, as per normal process, and that an interpreter should have been provided to the child’s mother, known as Mrs C, to help her understand the situation more clearly.

However, the watchdog agreed social workers had been correct to open an investigation but told the council this could have been done sooner. On top of a full apology, the local authority must in future provide a full written record of decisions and outcomes to parents and should involve the non-accused parent as much as possible.

Council bosses must also open a record no later than 24 hours after child protection concerns have been raised.

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “We acknowledge the findings of the report and will adhere to the recommendations.”