The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled safeguarding concerns relating to Mrs Y’s actions around her son’s (Mr X’s) finances, care and medical needs. Any fault in its actions did not cause the injustice Mrs Y claims it did.
The complaint
Mrs Y complains about how the Council dealt with safeguarding concerns relating to her and her son (Mr X) in 2021, which she says were later found to be without substance. It delayed telling Mrs Y about the concerns for seven weeks. It wrongly shared information with the Office of the Public Guardian, before her son’s host Council had investigated the concerns. Mrs Y says these events caused significant distress, impacting family relationships and contributing to the decline of her husband’s health. They affected Mr X’s quality of life, his safety and wellbeing. Mrs Y wants an apology, refund of legal costs and compensation for the distress and the time and trouble.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
This Council funds Mr X’s care in another council’s (Council A’s) area. Concerns were raised relating to several aspects of Mr X’s life, between February and May 2021. The councils discussed the issues, and the Council contacted the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) as concerns included how Mr X’s money was being managed. Mrs Y says it should not have done so as concerns had not, as yet, been investigated. She says it also did not tell her about the concerns.
In deciding whether it is in the public interest to investigate complaints, we must consider whether a complainant was caused a significant injustice.
In this case, I am satisfied the Council’s actions did not cause the injustice Mrs Y claims. Mrs Y’s assertion the claims were later found to be without substance is not accurate, and the Council was entitled to notify the OPG of concerns relating to how Mrs Y managed Mr X’s finances. The Council’s ultimate duty in such circumstances is to Mr X, and it was entitled to take this step based on the information available to it at the time. While the family experienced distress with subsequent relationship breakdowns and decline in health, this is a natural consequence of there being concerns about a vulnerable individual and their family, and is not because of any fault by the Council. Had the Council waited until a later date to contact the OPG, the outcome would not have been any better for Mrs Y.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because any fault in the Council’s actions did not cause injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman