Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (22 018 087)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 May 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not involving Mr X in his son’s case. He says the Council refused to send him information regarding his son. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council is not involving him in his disabled son’s case. He says the Council refused to send him information regarding his son. He wants the Council to provide all information on his son from the last 16 months by post.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has a son, Y. In 2021, the Court of Protection issued an order which detailed that it was in Y’s best interest for Mr X’s contact with the Council, professionals, and the service provider to be regulated by a ‘Communication Protocol’.
- The Communication Protocol set out who Mr X should contact, depending on the nature of his enquiry.
- The evidence available shows the Council has not prevented Mr X from being involved in Y’s case, or that it has refused to send him information on Y. Instead, the Council has asked Mr X to follow the Communication Protocol that has been ordered by the Court of Protection.
- If Mr X wants to receive the information about Y, it is open to him to follow the Communication Protocol and direct his enquiries to the appropriate persons.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman