The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of matters involving his child. There is insufficient evidence of fault with how the Council investigated the complaint under the statutory procedure.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has failed to adequately respond to safeguarding concerns he has raised. He believes there are conflicts of interest within the case that have not been appropriately addressed.
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.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X’s complaint has been considered under all three stages of the statutory children’s complaints procedure, and was upheld in part.
The Council has appropriately considered the findings and recommendations made by the Independent Investigating Officer, the Independent Person, and the Stage 3 Review Panel. The recommendations have been reviewed and actioned without delay.
We would not reinvestigate a complaint that has gone through the statutory process for children’s complaints unless there is evidence of fault or omission in the Council’s consideration under the process.
I will not investigate this complaint. The complaint documents indicate that the matter has been properly investigated under the statutory procedure. The findings are reasonable and defensible, and the Council has accepted them. That being the case, it is not for the Ombudsman to criticise the findings or intervene to substitute an alternative view.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of matters involving his child. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council considered Mr X’s complaint under the statutory complaints process.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman