Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint about the way the Council considered her complaint regarding a safeguarding investigation. This is because where he is not considering the substantive matters he will not usually investigate the way the Council handled a complaint about them. That is the case here.

The complaint

1. Mrs A says the Council delayed in properly considering her concerns about a friend’s, Mrs B’s, Power of Attorney who Mrs A says made decisions for her which are not in her best interests. Mrs A says Mrs B’s attorney moved her into a residential care home and refused to allow friends to visit. Mrs A says the Council failed to properly consider this as a safeguarding matter and minutes of the meeting it held with her and others concerned about Mrs B were incomplete and inaccurate.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. 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 would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended

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How I considered this complaint

4. I discussed the concerns with Mrs A and considered the information and documentation she provided. I sent Mrs A a copy of my draft decision and considered her comments on it.

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What I found

5. Mrs A complained to the Council when Mrs B’s attorney for health and wellbeing decided to move her into a residential care home and said she and other friends could no longer visit her.
6. The Council says it considered Mrs A’s concerns under its responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable adults. It explained Mrs B’s Power of Attorney decided to move her as he was concerned about her managing in her own home and took advice from her GP. The Council were satisfied this decision was taken in the best interests of Mrs B. The Ombudsman could not say this is fault.
7. Mrs A says she and other friends have been denied access to Mrs B and she has been unable to visit her since she moved. The Council says it cannot tell Mrs B’s attorney who can visit her.
8. Mrs A is concerned Mrs B’s attorney for health and wellbeing is not acting in her best interests. Mrs A can ask the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to consider her concerns about decisions taken by Mrs B’s attorney in her best interests. Information about reporting concerns to the OPG can be found on the website below:

https://www.gov.uk/report-concern-about-attorney-deputy-guardian

9. Mrs A can ask the Court of Protection to consider whether Mrs B’s attorney is a suitable representative for her and it would be reasonable for her to do so. Information about the Court of Protection can be found on the website below:

https://www.gov.uk/object-registration-power-attorney

10. Mrs A is concerned that minutes of a safeguarding meeting do not accurately reflect what was discussed. Mrs A can ask the Council to put a copy of her concerns reflecting the omissions and inaccuracies she is concerned about, to lie on the file alongside the Council’s minutes.
11. Mrs A is unhappy with the way the Council has considered her complaints. The Ombudsman will not investigate this point. Where he is not considering the substantive matters he will not usually consider the way the Council considered a complaint about them. That is the case here.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because where he is not considering the substantive matters he will not usually investigate the way the Council handled a complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman