Jo Fisher, the Executive Director of Children’s Services at Hertfordshire County Council, is not impressing.

Last week your author published an article here about social services in Hertfordshire, identifying concerns that had been raised in multiple rulings by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman as well as concerns I identified (some of which the Council, to be fair, admitted – albeit seeking to minimise). These were systemic failings which could put children at risk and had led to harm to children (for example, the Ombudsman had awarded one family £15,000 in compensation).

One concern I raised was that the council had told me members of the public should use a particular email address or phone number to make child protection referrals / raise child protection concerns. I pointed out the email address was not in fact clearly advertised to members of the public on the council’s website, only at the end of a form for professionals.

Yesterday, I got an email from a manager at Hertfordshire County Council telling me that child protection referrals from members of the public should be raised by phone, as opposed to the position last week where there was an email. Aside from being another apparent change of position from the shambolic Children’s Services department, it is likely unlawful. The exchange was as follows (extracted from multiple emails on multiple topics) –

Manager: In future please make any safeguarding referrals you may wish to submit by phoning [number].

Me: That’s not really appropriate for this type of referral. Unless it is an emergency, I intend to put any safeguarding concerns in future in writing either online or by letter in the post.

Manager: With respect to making a safeguarding referral, members of the public are required to contact [number].

I am pointedly not naming the complaints manager (title also slightly changed to avoid LinkedIn searches), because this is a systemic issue – a flaw in process. Also I happen to know via other channels that Jo Fisher the Executive Director of Children’s Services is taking a keen interest in this complaint process and article series and I blame her. Social services departments are governed by s47 Children Act 1989 and are under a statutory duty to investigate safeguarding referrals. Specifically,

“47 Local authority’s duty to investigate.
(1)Where a local authority— […]
(b) have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the authority shall make, or cause to be  made, such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.”

So, I cannot see how as a matter of law a council can not process written referrals. There is also the question of desirability and practicality. In an emergency, obviously the best thing to do is call police or a hotline. However, where concerns are nuanced and there are supporting documents, such as a court order or finding by another authority, it is sensible to use writing.

Workflows of written referrals are easier to manage and there is no risk of a modestly paid call centre worker writing things down incorrectly. I note in passing that as per my last article I have been told HCC Children’s Services will not take a message if the name of the child cannot be provided. HCC did not deny this allegation.

I do not see how this policy can be enforced. What is the council going to do? Shred letters from members of the public? Ignore written concerns by post or email and write back telling them to file their safeguarding concerns by phone?

I suggest that the correct best practice approach is simply to treat referrals from members of the public and professionals the same, encourage everyone to use a standard form to capture the information social services need, and use triaging procedures appropriately to prioritise by severity based on the referral contents and any existing file. Triaging can eliminate repetitive, malicious, trivial or mistaken concerns. Such processes are not novel.

I have now been told my concerns will be considered as part of stage 2 of a complaint I have made. However, a real problem here is the shambolic change of position on a systemic question like referral pathways. The impression I get once again, is of a defensive Children’s Services department more interested in the welfare of executives’ reputations than actual service provision and the welfare of y’know, children. A stonewalling approach frequently has the opposite effect.

In MHN’s view Hertfordshire County Council Children’s Services needs new leadership. Change has to happen at the top.