Surrey County Council (23 011 891)
Category : Adult care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Dec 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council tenders for Mental Health Services in its area. This is because it is unlikely we would find evidence of fault.
The complaint
- Mr B complained about the way the Council funds Mental Health Services. He says the centre is restricting when he can attend the support group because his ex-partner who lives in a different area, also attends the group. Mr B says the centre has put an attendance rota in place so he cannot go when he wants. Mr B says the Council should tell the Trust it will only fund places for local people.
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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has explained it is a partner agency with the Trust who provide support groups in its area. The Council has explained it is not involved with the day to day running of the groups. Mr B wants us to tell the Council to tell the Trust to restrict access to the groups to those only living in the area, but we cannot do this. We cannot tell the Council where it should allocate resources or place restrictions on who it funds.
- I understand Mr B has complained to the Trust about his views regarding who should attend the group. These are not matters we can consider.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman