Foster carer wins new victory against council

Martin Shipton

A foster carer has won a further victory over Bridgend County Borough Council after the Information Commissioner ordered the authority to release details of the cost of investigating safeguarding concerns she had raised.

In January 2025 Nation.Cymru reported how the council’s social services department had apologised unreservedly to a foster carer and her partner for mishandling a false allegation of assault made against her by a troubled boy in her care.

The authority also accepted recommendations made by an independent investigator brought in to look at detailed complaints made by the foster carer, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The investigator upheld a series of complaints made by the carer, including that there was a lack of support from Bridgend Social Services for her, her partner and the boy who made the false allegation.

There were, said the investigator’s report, gaps in actions, record-keeping, and practices. It stated: “The supervising social worker (SSW) was informed and asked to contact you; however, she was new to the case and noted that this was her first experience with such a situation. Since the child’s social worker was on leave, the care experienced children team manager liaised with the SSW in their absence, instructing her to contact you regarding a safety plan. It remains unclear whether the SSW understood her responsibilities or felt confident in her role.

“The investigator did not find evidence that the fostering team manager was informed about the investigation. She recalled receiving a late invitation to [a meeting to discuss the allegation], but was unable to attend. The investigator established that this situation should have prompted the Team Manager to follow up with the SSW; however, there is no evidence that this occurred.

“Both team managers acknowledged gaps in the processes following the invitation to the strategy meeting for the fostering staff. The investigator noted that processes have since changed following this incident. Additionally, the investigator identified gaps in the written records.

“There was no mention of the investigation in the Child Looked After (CLA) review held on 29/03/2023, despite a joint police visit taking place the day before. Furthermore, there were no records of the investigation in the foster carer case notes, except for one reference that incorrectly recorded the date of the incident.”

‘Full responsibility’

In a letter to the foster carer, Claire Marchant, Bridgend’s corporate director of social services and wellbeing stated: “I agree with the findings of the investigator, and I apologise that you were not informed of support for carers following the allegation. You should have been made aware of the resources available, including how to contact the fostering network and other external support systems for foster carers. We take full responsibility, and I can advise that … the fostering team were reminded to do this for all foster carers following an allegation being made. I apologise again for the lack of support to you and [your partner].

“It is evident that there were gaps in how we conducted our support at this time with a lack of clarity and management oversight of actions. I agree that there was confusion among teams about who should take responsibility. We have undertaken significant changes since this incident including the implementation of our ‘Signs of Safety’ social work framework and also providing ‘Back-to-Basics’ training to all staff so they have a clear understanding of the processes we expect them to follow in working with children and families. We will continue to review whether these practices are being delivered consistently via our revised Quality Assurance framework.”

In terms of the lack of support for the boy who made the false allegation, the report states: “Failure to put measures in place to protect K who it was known to the authority had a fear of the police. There was a drift and delay in K being spoken to after the Strategy Discussion. BCBC ignored the advice of the headteacher to interview the child at school.”

Oversight

Writing to the foster carer, Ms Marchant stated: “I accept the findings from the investigator. It is evident that there was a lack of management oversight and social work intervention at a worrying time for you and K. These steps fell short of our expectations. I note that the allocated social worker was absent from work at this time and support was being offered via duty social workers. This clearly affected our response and continuity of support to you and K.”

After the report was published, the foster carer, who has since retired, submitted a Freedom of Information request to establish the cost of investigating her concerns.

Serious safeguarding concerns

She told Nation.Cymru: “Bridgend council (BCBC) escalated my serious safeguarding concerns into a formal complaint without my knowledge, consent, or instruction and then proceeded with an 18‑month statutory investigation that was fundamentally compromised.

“In 2023, Nation.Cymru reported on serious breaches of duty of care by BCBC in relation to my fostering role. These breaches were admitted by the authority.

“Following that reporting, I uncovered additional safeguarding failures, including misleading information, withheld evidence, attempts to cover up procedural mistakes and breaches of the Social Care Wales Code of Professional Practice.

“I wrote to the Head of Service requesting a meeting to discuss these concerns. She did not respond. Instead of arranging the meeting I requested, her deputy escalated my concerns into a formal complaint without informing me.

“I only became aware of this when the Complaints Officer emailed to say she had ‘received my formal complaint’. I immediately instructed her to halt the process because I had not made a complaint. My instruction was ignored and BCBC proceeded regardless.”

When BCBC refused to disclose the cost of the investigation into the foster carer’s concerns, she appealed to the Information Commissioner. The commissioner agreed that the council had no grounds to reject the FoI request.

The council has now confirmed that the cost amounted to £12,528.60.

The foster carer said: “So far as I am concerned, this was a waste of public money. All I wanted to do was sit down with senior social services officers, discuss what had gone wrong and get them to learn some lessons. Instead they launched an inquiry without my consent. I hope lessons have been learned.”

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