Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about contact arrangements in 2021. Investigation by us is unlikely to lead to a worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X said a worker at a contact centre almost cut her contact session and said she was cruel in front of her children in August 2021. She said a worker told her in September 2021 that she would have to turn up “on the dot” or she would risk not seeing her children, despite there being a 15-minute leeway period. Ms X said the Council has not allowed her to attend her children’s medical appointments.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(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. What the worker said in August 2021 is disputed, with the Council stating the worker said it would be cruel not allow her children to see Ms X at contact when they could see she was there. Investigation would be unlikely to establish the exact words used.
6. The Council confirmed it asks parents to arrive 30 minutes early for contact sessions because timescales are tight. It confirmed there is no 15-minute leeway and apologised that a worker may have wrongly told Ms X there was. Investigation by us would be unlikely to lead to any additional remedy beyond the apology.
7. I can find no references in Ms X’s complaints to the Council or in its responses to her complaints to the issues of medical appointments, though there are references to other matters Ms X complained of. Ms X would need to complain first to the Council and complete its complaints procedure before bringing this matter to us. We might then investigate it if we think there is a good reason.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because doing so would be unlikely to lead to any worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman