The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council considered a safeguarding referral about him. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s decision-making following a safeguarding referral it received from his employer.
Mr X said the matter caused him distress and frustration.
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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is a person responsible for managing and overseeing investigations into allegations that somebody who works with children has behaved in a way that may pose a risk to children.
The Council received a referral regarding Mr X from his employer. An “Allegation Management Meeting” was held the following day, chaired by the LADO. The outcome of the meeting was that, on balance, the allegation was upheld.
Mr X was dissatisfied with the process and felt his voice was dismissed.
Analysis The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
There is insufficient evidence of fault. The Council followed the correct process after it received the referral. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman