The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a meeting chaired by the Local Authority Designated Officer. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Ms X complained about how the Council’s Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), chaired a meeting about her. She said the LADO: allowed agencies attending the meeting to speculate about her conduct, failed to consider her version of events, and discuss what information should be included on her Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate.
Ms X said she had challenged the content of her DBS with the Independent Monitor (IM). The IM had decided to remove information about the allegations.
Miss X said the failings of the LADO meeting had resulted in loss of earnings and caused her distress. Miss X wants an apology, a financial remedy and for the Council to improve its processes.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as the Police. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), 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 will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council chaired the LADO meeting for the following reasons: The Council received allegations about Ms X’s conduct. It decided the threshold was met for holding a LADO meeting. The LADO role was not to investigate the allegations but advise on next steps. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council followed its LADO procedures to justify our involvement.
The Police were responsible for deciding what information was included on Ms X’s DBS certificate, not the Council. Therefore, any alleged injustice caused by the information included on the DBS certificate was not the responsibility of the Council. We cannot investigate the actions of the Police.
Miss X wants the Council to financially compensate her for loss of earnings following the LADO meeting. The Ombudsman does not compensate a person for loss of earnings. Therefore, we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants. Additionally, any decisions about her employment were for her employer, not the Council.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman