North Yorkshire County Council (21 010 739)
Category : Adult care services > Direct payments
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Dec 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the misuse of direct payments. This is because the Council actions have not caused Miss X a significant injustice.
The complaint
- Miss X complains she was asked to misuse direct payments funding by her employer when working as a Personal Assistant for a young person and the Council’s external fraud team have not undertaken a full investigation and closed the case. Miss X said this has caused significant emotional distress and loss of employment, she would like the Council to reopen the investigation.
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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complains she was working as a Personal Assistant for a young person and was asked to misuse direct payments funding by her employer. Miss X says her employer altered a time sheet she had already signed which added additional hours onto her pay. Miss X was then asked by her employer to transfer the additional money into her employer’s personal account.
- The Council cannot share the outcome or conclusion of its investigation into Miss X’s complaint due to data protection legislation.
- Miss X’s complaint is between herself and her employer to resolve. The Council’s actions have not caused a significant injustice to Miss X.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council’s actions have not caused her a significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman