Cornwall Council (19 006 457)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council responded to a safeguarding concern made by the complainant about his tenant. This is because the Council has provided a satisfactory remedy.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council failed to respond appropriately after he reported safeguarding concerns about his tenant. Mr X suffered a financial loss.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the Council has provided an appropriate remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I considered a letter offering Mr X £1800. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
- Mr X had a tenant. He raised safeguarding concerns with the Council as he had concerns about the tenant’s well-being.
- The tenant subsequently died. Mr X alleges the tenant died due to the Council failing to provide appropriate support. Mr X incurred a financial loss due to not receiving rent and having to repair the property.
- The Council explained it could not provide Mr X with information about the tenant but it accepted there were learning points from the case. It said it was working to improve its polices and procedures. It offered Mr X £1800 in respect of his loses.
Assessment
- I will not start an investigation because the Council has provided a fair remedy. It has accepted there are lessons to learn and it will review its procedures. It has also offered a financial remedy.
- Mr X says the Council should be held accountable and he wants full details of what happened, regarding the tenant, to be published. However, that information is personal to the tenant and any personal injustice to Mr X has been remedied through the financial payment.
Final decision
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman