SCOTTISH Borders Council (SBC) has apologised after complaints over its services were upheld.

A parent – referred to as ‘C’ in a report published by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) – complained to the local authority about its “social work involvement” with their child who had “a range of conditions that affected their development and behaviour”.

As the child – referred to as ‘A’ – was transitioning to adult services, the parent raised concerns over the council’s support.

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While SBC upheld aspects of the complaint, C felt some parts of the council’s response were unclear, that they had not taken responsibility for what had gone wrong, and that they misunderstood some of the family’s concerns.

C took the matter to SPSO, which upheld the complaints.

The SPSO report states: “We took independent advice from a social worker. We found that the council could have done more to facilitate clear communication with C and to involve C in A’s care planning and assessments.

“We also found that the council unreasonably excluded C from certain aspects of the decision-making process for A. We upheld all of C’s complaints.”

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The council was recommended to apologise to C for the “failings”, as well as in the future taking into account “the young person’s wishes about their family’s involvement in the decision-making process”.

SBC was also told to “arrange a face-to-face meeting or a phone call to discuss sensitive matters, rather than communicating the information in writing” in order to improve.

A council spokesperson said: “In response to the finding of the SPSO, Scottish Borders Council has issued an apology to C for the failings identified. In addition to this, staff briefings in relation to the learning identified have taken place across the service.

“Work is also underway to develop standardised practice regarding email communication to include guidance and protocols for staff, as well as a document that can be shared with parents of Looked After Children when they turn 16 and the children/young people themselves; to include the changes in parents’ rights, the legal duties placed on social work to consider the wishes of the child/young person and how the service plans to work with the families.”