Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council has not completed a timely review of his son’s sleeping system. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has not completed a timely review of his son’s sleeping system. He says the delay has caused uncertainty as to whether the sleeping system remains appropriate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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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. Mr X first asked the Council to complete a review of his son’s sleeping system in February 2024, during his son’s annual review.
6. The Council did not refer Mr X’s request to the health service until May 2024. The Council has accepted it was at fault for this delay. I am satisfied this delay will have caused some frustration to Mr X.
7. The Council explained the sleeping system was provided by a colleague who was employed by the health service. Therefore, the review needed to be completed by the health service. The Council confirmed it had chased the health service, who confirmed the referral had been received but not yet actioned.
8. Therefore, an investigation is not justified because we are not likely to find fault with the Council for the delay in completing the review as the responsible body for completing the review of the sleeping system is the health service, not the Council. Further, the health service is not under the direct management of the Council and so it does not have any authority to influence their work or allocation decisions.
9. It is open to Mr X to raise a complaint with the relevant integrated care board/NHS Trust and then to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman if he remains unhappy about the delay in completing the review.
10. In recognition of the frustration caused by the delay in making the referral to the health service, we asked the Council to make a symbolic financial payment of £100.

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Agreed action

11. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will provide the agreed payment within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

12. We have upheld this complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman