Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council in its role of Deputy for the complainant’s son. This is because such complaints need to be made to the Office of the Public Guardian.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs Q, says that the Council, in its role as Deputy for her son, is not acting in his best interests.

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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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (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 Q and I sent her an initial view for her comments.

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What I found

4. The Council acts as Deputy for Mrs Q’s son. She complains that it is not acting in his best interests or handling his affairs responsibly.
5. We will not investigate the complaint, however. This is because there is an established process to follow where someone believes that a Deputy is not acting the best interests of the person they represent, or is not acting responsibly.
6. The Court of Protection agrees Deputies, and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is the body to complain to about the conduct of a Deputy. The LGSCO has no authority to act in these circumstances and Mrs Q needs to take her concerns to the OPG.

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Final decision

7. I will not investigate this complaint about the Council as a Deputy, as the complaint needs to be made to the OPG.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman