The leader of Warwickshire County Council plans to shield "stern dads" from what he believes to be a "weaponised" system of social services referrals.

Cllr George Finch made the comments at Reform UK's party conference while speaking to a Centre of Social Justice presentation on its Lost Boys project – work to highlight crises facing boys and young men in the UK. 

Grim statistics on male suicide, educational achievement and the prospects of boys in relation to girls were laid out with Cllr Finch talking about his own experience of having a father who took the lead at home and the benefits that had. 

He argued that "for too long it has been promoted that mums are the main ones who care for the kids" before citing maternity units in hospitals as an example of public systems being weighted against fathers. 

"I have seen as children and families portfolio holder that, especially in hospitals, when the mum gives birth, they take the dad out and ask the mum 'have you been domestically abused?'," he said.

"Instantly, the dad questions 'what have I done?', because the wife will tell him. He instantly starts to think 'ooh, are they thinking something different?'

"The social services get weaponised by the education system and the health system when stern dads that express their emotions in different ways, they maybe don't cry but get assertive, especially when they are trying to get the best care for their children.  

"Yes, I have seen many applications to social services and child protection because dads are just being dads and that is where we have to start changing the tune. 

"That is why on Warwickshire County Council, I am actually making a common sense approach to child services referrals, not just an open-door strategy where it is 'ooh, he is assertive, hmm. Gut feeling, he's a bit difficult, let's send him on his way and put him through the system.'

"We have to start caring for the dads, that's most important because that's what makes young lads actually strive, having a strong male role model."

Cllr Finch has since confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he intends to bring forward changes but that nothing specific has been instigated in Warwickshire yet. 

Deputy leader of the opposition Cllr Sarah Boad said she was "extremely concerned" by the comments and had made enquiries with the council, confirming she had yet to be briefed by anyone from Reform UK on any potential policy change in this area.

"Nobody has mentioned this and as a group we are talking to each other all the time – I would think that if this had been mentioned, I would know about it," added Cllr Boad.

"The first we knew was the video that appeared online."

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust referred a query on the current protocol on domestic abuse checks in maternity units to the Department of Health and Social Care. They suggested also raising it with NHS England and the Local Democracy Reporting Service is awaiting response from those national bodies.