Ombudsman uncovers safeguarding failures at council after backlog of 500 reports

The backlog was revealed during an inquiry into a safeguarding complaint against the London Borough of Haringey. The case involved a vulnerable man who suffered a life-changing injury after a seizure and fall. His friend, who raised the complaint, said the council had failed to act on repeated concerns from both her and emergency services about the man’s deteriorating health and risk of homelessness.

In its investigation, the Ombudsman found that Haringey had more than 1,100 unread emails linked to social care referrals, including the 500 police safeguarding alerts.

Julie Odams, Chief Executive of the LGSCO, said the council’s failure to act had left the man “at risk of significant harm.” She added:

“While we cannot say the accident which caused such a major injury would have been prevented if the council had acted sooner, the man’s friends and family are left not knowing whether things might have turned out differently if he’d had the help he needed earlier. I hope this shocking case will spur the council into making lasting changes which will benefit other vulnerable people in the borough.”

The Ombudsman ordered Haringey to apologise to both the man and his friend. The council will pay the man £2,000 for leaving him at risk of harm, and £200 to the complainant in recognition of the distress and time taken to pursue the complaint.

As part of the remedy, the council has agreed to develop an action plan to improve how it responds to safeguarding alerts, review its safeguarding policy, and provide staff training on handling referrals and complaints. It will also share the Ombudsman’s findings and its action plan with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the relevant scrutiny committee, ensuring progress is monitored.

The case highlights deep concerns about safeguarding capacity and responsiveness in overstretched local services. For social work professionals, the investigation serves as a warning about the risks of unmanaged referrals and backlogs, particularly when urgent police alerts go unread.

The LGSCO said it hoped lessons from the case would encourage councils across England to review their safeguarding procedures and ensure frontline staff are equipped to respond to alerts in a timely and effective way.