Liverpool City Council (23 008 621)
Category : Adult care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to safeguard the complainant’s daughter. That is because we cannot add to the findings of an external review or its recommendations.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council failed to safeguard her daughter, Ms Y after it received multiple safeguarding referrals from the Police. Ms Y later took her own life. Mrs X wants the Council to explain why it failed her daughter. She does not want another family to experience what their family did.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss Y was a victim of domestic abuse. After her death, the Council was part of a multi-agency Domestic Homicide Review. This was a review into the circumstances around Miss Y’s death. It considered different agencies’ responses to Miss Y. The review made specefic recommendations and areas of learning for the Council. The Council is making structural and practice changes. It has met with Mrs X to explain the steps it is taking.
- We will not investigate this complaint. That is because we cannot add to the findings or recommendations of the Domestic Homicide Review.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot add to the review already completed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman