London Borough of Barnet (25 000 135)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Oct 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s action in dealing with Mr X. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our further involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments for his condition in communicating with him and in meeting his care needs. He says he cannot interact with the Council because of its actions and wants his care provided by another authority.
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 documents I have seen confirm the Council assessed Mr X’s care needs and attempted to provide the assessed care, and that it remains willing to do so. They include documents that show Mr X sent communications to the Council that it was entitled to regard as threatening and/or abusive. They also show that Mr X attended the Council’s offices and refused to leave, and that this resulted in actions. While Mr X takes the view the Council has failed to make adjustments for his conditions, the Council is entitled to also take account of its duty to protect its staff. The Council also has no power to make another authority responsible for Mr X’s care.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our further involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman