Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council handled her safeguarding concerns about her late father, Mr X. This is because Mr X withdrew consent for the Council to share information with Mrs X before he died. Therefore, Mrs X is not a suitable person to make this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about how the Council dealt with her safeguarding concerns regrading possible financial and emotional abuse of her late father, Mr X, by other family members. She says the Council did not properly investigate her concerns and believes her father may have died prematurely.
2. Mrs X wants the Council to gather information and witness statements concerning the alleged abuse and review her father’s case in light of the findings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who has died or who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by:

• their personal representative (if they have one), or
• someone we consider to be suitable.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered comment and information from Mrs X and the Council.

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What I found

6. Mrs X contacted the Council in spring 2019 raising concerns about her father’s welfare. In particular, she alleged financial and emotional abuse of her father by other family members.
7. The Council discussed the concerns with Mr X who made it clear, on several occasions, he did not give consent for his personal information to be shared with his daughter. The Council says it explained this to Mrs X prior to her father’s death.
8. In response to Mrs X’s subsequent complaint, the Council said it could not pursue it due to Mr X’s expressed wish not to share his information with her. The Council also confirmed it would carry out an internal review to ensure Mr X received the most appropriate care and that the Council followed due process. It explained that due to her father’s wishes, it could not share the outcome of this review with Mrs X.
9. The Council has provided documentary evidence to show:
• the actions it took in response to Mrs X’s concerns,
• case records confirming Mr X’s decision that he did not want the Council to share information about him with his daughter, and
• the outcome of the internal review.
10. The Council is obliged to act in accordance with a person’s wishes where the person has made a capacitated decision. Therefore, given Mr X’s clear views around information sharing, I do not consider Mrs X is a suitable person to make this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because Mrs X is not a suitable person to complain about matters relating to her father.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman