Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint alleging the Council has failed to safeguard the complainant. This is because the Council appears to have responded appropriately and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to add anything more to the Council’s investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr X, says the Council has failed to ‘safeguard’ him appropriately. Mr X says he has been drugged, tortured, raped and this was broadcast over the internet. He says he is still being targeted. He also says he has tried to take his life many times.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 believe it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the complaint information provided by Mr X. I have read the Council’s responses to his complaint. I also sent Mr X my draft decision.

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What I found

4. The Care Act statutory guidance defines adult safeguarding as: ‘protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect’. Local authorities must act when they ‘reasonable cause to suspect an adult in its area has needs for care and support, is experiencing or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, and as a result of these needs is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it’. (Care Act 2014, section 42)
5. Councils can refer people at risk, but who do not have care and support needs, to signpost people to more appropriate agencies rather than trigger a formal safeguarding response.
6. Mr X’s complaint is that the Council has failed to safeguard him.
7. The responses from the Council details the actions it says it has taken. Overall, the Council says it has assessed Mr X three times since 2016 to determine any social care needs under s9 of the Care Act. It says the outcome of the most recent assessment was that he does not want further support plus the evidence did not show any needs. But, it said it would carry out another assessment if Mr X wished and he should contact it to arrange this.
8. Instead, the Council says it has sign posted Mr X to more appropriate agencies to address his concerns such as the Police, Housing and the NHS Trust.
9. Mr X told the Council that its staff had not taken his concerns seriously and had mocked him. The Council said there was no evidence to indicate that staff had mocked Mr X. It said the service Mr X complained about did not record telephone calls. It advised that, according to its records, an officer had said to Mr X during a telephone call on 8 April 2019, that the Council could not safeguard him against unidentified individuals, and he should contact the Police. It said this was the right agency to address the abuse reported by Mr X. The Council has apologised that Mr X is being targeted and says he needs to report this to the Police, and if the Police are not keeping him informed, he should request an update.
10. The Council also said it was sorry to hear that Mr X had tried to take his life many times. It said its records showed staff had informed him on how to contact the NHS crisis line and call 999. It also said he could speak to his GP and contact the community mental health team.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s previous investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman