Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to an allegation of theft at a Day Centre. This is because there is nothing that we could add to the response by the Council, and we cannot achieve the desired outcomes.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs L says that:
• A worker at the Day Centre attended by her mother, M, stole charms and links from a gold bracelet that M asked him to disentangle; and
• The Centre has not investigated the theft properly.

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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 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 or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mrs L, and I have sent her a draft decision for her comments.

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What I found

4. Mrs L’s mother, M, attends a Dementia Club at a Day Centre. On one occasion she asked a worker at the centre to disentangle a gold bracelet for her. M says it was some time before the bracelet was returned to her, and when it was, some of the charms were missing and the bracelet appeared to be smaller.
5. Mrs L complained to the Day Centre which investigated the allegation and involved the police in the matter. The Police said that there was insufficient evidence to proceed, and the Centre explained that it could take no further action. It did, however, undertake to work with staff to ensure greater transparency and for staff to understand that requests to carry out personal services such as the request by M should be refused and reported.
6. Mrs L was not satisfied with the outcome and complained to the Council. She felt that witness statements showed discrepancies, and that action should be taken against the employee. She also felt that M was unfairly considered to have mis-remembered events and the previous state of the bracelet on the grounds of her dementia.
7. The Council’s response said that after a full investigation, there was no evidence that the worker stole anything. It said that only a criminal investigation could look for additional evidence, and that as the police has declined to carry out a criminal investigation, no further action could be taken.
8. Mrs L has now complained to the Ombudsman, but we will not investigate the matter. This is because there is nothing that further investigation could add to that carried out by the Council. Additionally, we could not achieve the outcomes that Mrs L is looking for. She would like to see a finding on the theft allegation and action taken against the employee. The LGSCO is unable to achieve these.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is nothing that we could add to the Council’s investigation, and we cannot achieve the desired outcomes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman