Social Worker Who “Shouldn't Be Working With Children” Dodges Justice—Again, Thanks to Broken Complaints System

Civic Centre Hartlepool

Critics claim its yet another example of a fuendmentally 'broken complaints system' at Hartlepool Borough Council, as complaints against the institutions social workers keep on being logged....

15th May 2025

Hartlepool’s residents are said to be 'learning the hard way' over just how impenetrable and ineffective the system of local accountability has become at one of Hartlepool's most 'troubled' institutions, where its claimed a complaint concerning a social worker—described by a local father as someone who “shouldn’t be working with children”—has been unceremoniously thrown out by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). The reasons said to have been claimed were bureaucratic delay and procedural convenience.

The case, brought forward by a resident known only as Mr X, raises deeply troubling questions—not only about the competence and accountability of local children’s services at Hartlepool Borough Council, but about the system's willful disinterest in justice when it's inconvenient.

A History of Harm Ignored

The Complainant says he first raised concerns about his children’s mother back in 2019, and also lodged a complaint with the Council at the time. Despite his efforts, his warnings apparently went unheeded. He was then forced to pursue private legal proceedings. In a grim vindication of his concerns, the children were later placed into care after reportedly suffering harm under their mother’s supervision.

Years later, those same children are taken into care—not because the system was proactive, but because it finally had no choice. And yet, the Local Government Ombudsman now insists his complaint has come too “late” to investigate, despite the fact that new evidence come to light in the years since that supported what the complainant had said all along. With the Ombudsman admitting this, then dismissing the complaint it in the same breath.

A Convenient Excuse: “Too Late”

The LGSCO’s statement is astonishingly dismissive. It states:

“While the events between 2019 and present produced further information to support Mr X’s concerns… there is not a good reason for the five-year delay…”

So we have a situation where proven harm has occurred. A father’s initial warnings were substantiated by later events. But because he didn’t jump through the Ombudsman’s hoops in exactly the right timeframe—possibly due to being locked in a traumatic and consuming legal battle—the case is simply not worth their time.

The decision is once again said to be telling victims and whistleblowers that: If your complaint doesn’t fit our timeline, no matter how valid, we won’t help you....

Hidden Behind the Courtroom Curtain

The Ombudsman further refused to investigate because the matter was said to have been considered in family court. This is another common escape hatch used by councils and regulators alike: if something has even been “touched by a judge,” it becomes radioactive to oversight.

The courts did not examine the Council’s failures. They dealt with the children’s safety—not the bureaucratic neglect that allowed the danger to persist, with the Ombudsman’s reasonings & The Council’s actions “too intertwined” with court proceedings, roughbl;y translating to both HBC & the LGO saying: we can’t be bothered to untangle them.

So, Who's Really Watching the Social Workers in Hartlepool?

The reality is.. No One!

Perhaps the most worrying apsect of the saga is that the local father who raised concerns about the individual social worker involved—someone he firmly believes should not be working with children is still continuing their work within one of Teessides most corrupt institutions. The Ombudsman was quick to brush that aside too:

“We cannot make recommendations relating to social workers’ registrations... it is open to Mr X to contact Social Work England.”

What this effectively means is that councils are shielded from accountability not only on one side by the courts, but on the other by professional regulators who only deal with individual conduct. Meanwhile, the systemic failure that allowed this to happen in the first place leads to No one being found responsible, a convenient 'slide out' for Hartlepool Borough Council once more !

A Broken System, By Design

It's yet another case that exposes the rotten foundation of complaint handling within local government. When councils fail, and people suffer, residents are passed from one dead-end process to another—each carefully designed and constructed to deny accountability to those who've suffered an injustice.

Hartlepool Borough Council, like many others, rely on this bureaucratic fog to survive scandal after scandal. Whether it’s failed housing, financial waste, or child protection failures—the strategy is the same: delay, deny, deflect.

Mr X’s case is not an anomaly—it is a symptom of a culture where residents are treated as irritants, and real red flags are only acknowledged when it's too late to prevent harm.

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