The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about care and support the Council provided to Mr X’s father before he passed away. This is because Mr X has not provided us with sufficient evidence to show he is a suitable person to raise this complaint.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to provide the proper level of care and support for his father before his death. Mr X says the Council have failed to answer his questions about what happened and the situation has caused the family significant distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who has died or who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by: their personal representative (if they have one), or someone we consider to be suitable.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We have asked Mr X whether there is anyone appointed to manage his father’s estate and if so whether he has their consent to raise a complaint. We have not heard from Mr X. Therefore we cannot investigate this complaint as we cannot know, based on the information provided, whether he is a suitable person to bring this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because, based on the information provided, we cannot reach a decision on whether he is a suitable person to bring this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman