Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his report of safeguarding concerns. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has not appropriately considered his reports of safeguarding concerns related to his relative, Ms Y. He says this has caused him distress. He wants the Council to investigate his complaint to ensure his relative is safeguarded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. A council must make enquiries if it thinks a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themselves. An enquiry is the action taken by a council in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. An enquiry could range from a conversation with the person who is the subject of the concern, to a more formal multi-agency arrangement. A council must also decide whether it or another person or agency should take any action to protect the person from abuse. (section 42, Care Act 2014)
6. Mr X reported safeguarding concerns in 2022 related to his relative, Ms Y, who lives in a care home. He also reported further concerns during 2023.
7. The Council investigated his concerns and provided a final response in September 2023. The response set out how it had considered and investigated each of his concerns. It said the Council was satisfied with the quality of care Ms Y was receiving and that she was appropriately safeguarded. It concluded no further action was needed.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has appropriately investigated Mr X’s concerns. It has provided a detailed response to him setting out how it has investigated each point and reached its conclusions. The response addressed concerns he raised both in 2022 and 2023. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant further investigation.
9. Mr X also complained to us about delay within the Council’s complaints procedure. It is not a good use of our resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue, so we will not investigate this.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant further investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman