The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has exposed a major safeguarding failure at the London Borough of Haringey, as hundreds of police welfare reports go unread.
A complaint revealed that the council ignored urgent alerts about a vulnerable individual, who later suffered a life-changing injury after a seizure-related fall.
The investigation found Haringey had over 1,100 unread emails in its social work inbox, including more than 500 police welfare reports, highlighting a systemic backlog that left residents at serious risk.
Julie Odams, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman chief executive, condemned the council’s ‘inertia’ and failure to act promptly.
In response, Haringey Council has committed to a robust action plan, including staff training, policy overhauls, and improvements to how safeguarding alerts are handled. The council will also apologise and provide compensation to those affected.
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