Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain the Council mishandled a safeguarding concern involving them both. There is no fault in the actions of the Council. We have closed the case.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain the Council mishandled a safeguarding case which involved them both. Mr X says:
• this caused them both distress;
• the person they were complaining about is the same person who investigated their complaint;
• he never received an apology from the Council for the way he was treated;
• information about the safeguarding concern was illegally shared. He says that people look at him and talk about him in the street.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered:
• Mr and Mrs X’s complaint;
• the Council’s response to Mr and Mrs X’s complaint; and
• the Council’s response to my enquiries;
• the Care Act 2014; and
• the Council’s safeguarding procedures.
6. I have considered the comments that Mr and Mrs X and the Council made on my draft decision.

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What I found

The Law

The Care Act 2014

7. The Care Act 2014 places specific duties on local authorities in relation to safeguarding. The Act says a local authority must make enquiries where it has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult in its area,
1. has needs for care and support (whether or not the authority is meeting any of those needs),
2. is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, and
3. as a result of those needs is unable to protect himself or herself against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.

Council Safeguarding Procedures

8. The Council has developed procedures that reflect the current legislation in the Care Act. This sets out what the Council must do when someone submits a safeguarding concern.
9. The procedures say the Council must make enquiries. It says this will usually start with asking the adult their views and wishes to determine what next steps to take.
10. After initial enquiries, the Council may be satisfied that all necessary safeguards are in place. It says the Council must record all actions and decision making. It goes on to say the Council should notify the relevant people of the outcomes of the initial enquiry. This must include the person who raised the concern, and the adult at risk.

What happened

11. Mr and Mrs X are disabled. Mr X cares for Mrs X. Mr X says that he does everything and does not receive any help.
12. In July 2018, the Council received a safeguarding concern against Mr X, about his care of Mrs X. The Council had a legal duty to consider the information received.
13. The Council wrote to Mrs X on 2 August. This letter informed her that it had been brought to the Council’s attention that she may be in need of some support and advice. The Council said it would like to visit Mrs X on 8 August.
14. On 6 August, the Council spoke to Mr and Mrs X several times. Mr X was unhappy the Council had addressed the letter to Mrs X instead of himself. He told the Council it could not visit on 8 August as there was not enough notice. After several conversations throughout the day, Mr X and the Council agreed a visit for 7 August.
15. The Council visited Mr and Mrs X on 7 August. The Council said it needed to speak to Mrs X alone due to the nature of the safeguarding concern. Mr X said that Mrs X suffers from anxiety and panic attacks which are made worse by stressful situations. The Council said that it was aware of Mrs X’s anxiety. It said it was important that it spoke to her without Mr X being present. It said it approached this in a sensitive manner.
16. Mr X said the Council treated him badly and made him feel terrible. He said the Council has never apologised for this.
17. The Council wrote to Mrs X on 16 August. It confirmed that following the safeguarding visit, the Council would not be taking any further action under its safeguarding procedures. There is no evidence the Council provided feedback to Mr X indicating the outcome of the safeguarding concern.
18. Mr X complained to the Council about its handling of the safeguarding concern. He said there was confusion over who his wife’s case worker was. He said the Council was not aware of his wife’s anxiety when it carried out its initial enquiries and therefore caused her distress. He also said that he was made to feel like he had done something wrong.
19. The Council appointed the relevant team manager to investigate stage 1 of Mr X’s complaint. Mr X complained that it was wrong for the manager of the officers he was complaining about to handle the case. The Council said the officer was a safeguarding specialist and was best placed to investigate. Mr X remained unhappy. The Council then reallocated the investigation to a different officer.
20. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint. This included meetings and telephone conversations with Mr and Mrs X and interviews with all the officers involved with the safeguarding case. I have seen the notes and final report from this investigation.
21. The investigating officer visited Mr X and provided verbal feedback and an outcome to his complaint. He apologised to Mr X for the distress the safeguarding concern caused him. Mr X said that he wanted a written apology from the officers he was complaining about.

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Analysis

22. The law says the Council has a duty to make enquiries into an alleged safeguarding concern. I have found no fault with the Council’s decision to make enquiries.
23. Mr X says the Council handled the safeguarding concern badly. He says the officers caused him and his wife distress and did not consider Mrs X’s anxiety. From the evidence I have seen, the officers said they acted professionally and sensitively in what was a difficult situation.
24. I acknowledge that Mr X is clearly very upset by the safeguarding allegation and the enquiries made by the Council. This is understandable. However, I recognise the Council has a duty to make enquiries. It had to balance the impact on Mr X’s feelings and Mrs X’s anxiety against its duty to obtain relevant evidence about the allegation. I have found no fault here.
25. The Council, in its response to Mr X’s complaint, provided a verbal apology for any distress it inadvertently caused. Mr X says he wants a letter addressed to both him and his wife. He says this should contain the outcome of the safeguarding concern and a written apology from the officers involved in the case. He says he needs this as recognition that he did nothing wrong.
26. The Council acknowledged that there is no evidence that it provided any formal or informal feedback following its initial enquiries. Whilst it may have been good practice to provide this, there was no legal requirement for the Council to notify him. The procedures say the Council should notify the relevant people of the outcomes of the initial enquiry. This must include the person who raised the concern, and the adult at risk.
27. A week after the Council visited Mr and Mrs X as part of its initial enquiries, it wrote to Mrs X. This letter confirmed that following the safeguarding visit, the Council would not be taking any further action under safeguarding. This is in line with the safeguarding procedures. I have found no fault here.

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Final decision

28. I do not uphold Mr and Mrs X’s complaint. The Council was not at fault for investigating the safeguarding concern about Mr X. There is no fault in the way the Council carried out its investigation.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

29. I have not investigated Mr X’s complaint that someone in the Council allegedly leaked information about the safeguarding concern. This is because, the Information Commissioner is best placed to consider this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman