Complaint against PKC upheld
Perth and Kinross Council has been told to tread more carefully when it chooses to separate children from carers in future following complaints about its adoption services.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has recommended the local authority always ensure placements come to an end “in a planned way” after reviewing the complaints.
The ombudsman’s report on the complaints, which identified the complainer only as C, said: “C adopted a young child, however the placement ended after a short period of time and the child was removed from C’s care.
“C complained to the council about the lack of support provided during the adoption placement, that the placement ended abruptly and that the council did not follow all of the recommendations in the disruption report completed after the ending the placement.
“The council advised that support was offered to C, however they recognised that an additional meeting to review the situation and offer practical support may have been helpful.
“The council also acknowledged the placement ended abruptly but considered it was managed well. The council said they implemented the recommendations detailed in the disruption report.
“We found that the council failed to recognise the need to formally review the child’s plan and respond to C’s requests for support. We found that the council failed to ensure the placement ended in a more planned way or to recognise that more weight should have been given to a child’s experience of significant trauma.
“We also found that the council unreasonably delayed in responding to C’s complaint. We upheld C’s complaints.”
The PA invited PKC to comment on the SPSO’s findings but received no response.