Cumberland Council (23 003 870)
Category : Children's care services > Looked after children
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about leaving care. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr Y complains on behalf of his son, Mr X. He said he sought statutorily mandated financial assistance for Mr X in 2023. He said the Council failed to provide assistance and ignored his complaints.
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 correspondence I have seen shows Mr Y’s request was open ended, and did not ask for anything specific. I would not expect a public body to respond to a general request by providing a list of potential services or benefits. I have seen no evidence of any specific request for assistance the Council turned down.
- Mr X’s date of birth is not disputed. I asked the Council about Mr X’s time in care to work out possible current entitlements. To be entitled to leaving care pathway services in 2023 Mr X would need to have been in Council care at age 16, which would have required him to remain in care until a date at the end of 2017. The Council said he returned to the care of Mr Y on a date in April 2017 I have seen no evidence that Mr X remained in care until his 16th birthday eight months later. I therefore conclude there would be no entitlement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman