London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (25 009 187)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that an officer of the Council made defamatory comments about Miss X. This is because the injustice complained of is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. The Council has also apologised to Miss X and reminded staff to be more measured in their communications. We consider this to be a sufficient remedy to this complaint.
The complaint
- Miss X complains that an officer of the Council made defamatory comments about her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).
- We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B(8) and (9))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complains about the remarks made by an officer of the Council. Miss X feels that the comments are false and portray her in a negative way.
- However, the Council have already accepted that some of the comments could have led to a misunderstanding between the officer and Miss X. The Council has reminded the officer in question to be clearer and more measured in their communications. We consider this to be a sufficient remedy for this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of significant injustice to justify our involvement, and we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman