Summary: We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint about the Council’s failure to inform her of the death of her brother, Mr B, at the earliest opportunity. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an ombudsman investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms C says the Council should have told her about the death of her brother, Mr B prior to having his body cremated and scattering his ashes. Ms C says once instructed; tracing companies found her within three hours. Ms C says it would have been good practice for the Council to have looked for relatives sooner and is disgusted with the way she has been treated by the Council having to wait over 25 weeks to respond to her letters of concern and complaint. Ms C says she has been put to administrative expense having to write to the Council.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. The Council explained when it became involved in Mr B’s care in 2018 he advised he had no family in the UK. In September 2018 he was referred to the Council’s Client Financial Affairs (CFA) team who, unaware of any blood relatives, acted as his court appointed deputy for the duration of his lifetime. When he passed away in 2021, the Council asked his Care Provider if it had a record of any blood relatives and it advised from its records it did not. The Council explained it made a referral to the Government Legal Department (GLD) regarding the late Mr B’s estate in March 2021. It explained this is standard practice where there is no known blood relative and no will. The Council explained prior to making the referral it arranged and paid the funeral costs. The costs paid were under Probate law, directly from the estate.
6. Ms C says the Council should have contacted her sooner. However, it is not the role of the Council to find relatives. Mr B had not informed the Council about Ms C when he had capacity to do so. Although Ms C says it would have been good practice to tell her before making funeral arrangements for Mr B, it not doing so does not amount to fault. The Council does not have a duty to find blood relatives when it has been told a person has none.
7. The Council apologised for the delay in responding to Ms C’s complaint. We would not normally investigate this point when we are not investing the substantive matter that is the case here.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an ombudsman investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman