Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care. Parts of the complaint are late, parts involve court action, and for the parts we could consider we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken. The Ombudsman cannot add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything further.

The complaint

1. Mr D says the care support the Council arranges for his son, Mr E, is not good enough. Mr D says care providers have:

• taken money from Mr E,
• got Mr E to pay for trips and holidays for the benefit of the care worker,
• acted threateningly,
• left Mr E without support all night,
• allowed Mr E to buy alcohol,
• missed medication.

2. Mr D says the Council moved Mr E to Morecambe when he did not want to move there, and it made it difficult for Mr D to visit.
3. Mr D says the Council fails to return his calls and does nothing to improve Mr E’s care support. Mr D says the Council does not allow Mr E any free time to go out on his own.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
7. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council or care provider on its behalf has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
8. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

9. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

10. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
11. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

12. Mr D’s complaints about the support from care agencies and the move to Morecambe are late complaints in accordance with paragraph seven. These events happened in 2020 and 2021 and there is no good reason Mr D could not have raised these concerns sooner.
13. The Ombudsman also cannot look at the decision to move to Morecambe as the Court of Protection was involved in that decision. We cannot investigate matters heard by a court.
14. The Ombudsman cannot look at Mr E failing to have free time, because that is a decision made by the Ministry of Justice and not the Council. The Court of Protection ordered Mr E should have 24-hour support.
15. The Council has given Mr D a thorough response to his concerns and has met with Mr D to discuss matters. The Council has apologised for times when it has not returned Mr D’s calls. The Council has given Mr D a communication plan, with one primary contact. This is appropriate action in response to Mr D’s concerns.
16. Mr E is in hospital, and so his care support will be reviewed when he is ready for discharge. The Ombudsman cannot add to the Council’s investigation, and it would appear there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mr D’s complaint because parts of it are late complaints, parts of it have been heard at court, and for the parts we could consider we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken. The Ombudsman could not add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything further.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman