Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s interaction and communication with Mr X. There is not enough evidence of fault causing significant injustice to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains Council Social Workers have repeatedly said upsetting and distressing things to him. He believes the Council’s apologies are not genuine and fail to recognise the seriousness of the situation. Mr X also says the Council’s approach prevents him from effectively communicating his unmet care and support needs. He wants the Council to address all the points he has been trying to make.

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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, 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, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (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. Since the beginning of last year, the Council has responded to complaints from Mr X about his interactions with different Social Workers and their Managers. These responses have acknowledged and apologised for times when Mr X has been caused upset by specific Council Officers. The Council has sought to assist learning from Mr X’s experience by those Officers through feedback and reflective practice.
6. The Council has at various points offered to meet with Mr X, either online or in person, to help resolve any ongoing issues and move forward with reviews of his care plan and direct payments.
7. Mr X does not believe the Council’s apologies and action to try to resolve his concerns are adequate. Mr X’s view is not evidence of fault by the Council. In the absence of this, there is nothing more we could meaningfully achieve for Mr X by investigating this complaint further.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman