Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions when concerns were raised about her handling of her father’s finances. We will not investigate this complaint as it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s management of a safeguarding alert. Her complaint included that it:
• Decided to carry out a safeguarding investigation after her father’s (Mr Y’s) bank raised concerns about Mrs X’s management of his finances.
• Told Mrs X about the allegations over the telephone, rather than in writing.

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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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mrs X provided when she complained to the Ombudsman.
5. I considered Mrs X’s comments on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. The Council contacted Mrs X after her father’s (Mr Y’s) bank raised concerns about how she managed his finances. Mrs X says the bank’s accusations were false. She says the Council told her about the concerns over the telephone, rather than in writing, meaning she had nothing in writing to help her get advice.
7. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s reasons for becoming involved, but that does not mean it was at fault. The Council has a duty to consider all safeguarding alerts made to it. The Council took steps I would expect it to, including contacting Mrs X promptly to discuss the concerns and attempting to speak directly to Mr Y. There is no requirement for councils to communicate allegations in writing.
8. Mrs X has also explained the distress she has experienced. Safeguarding investigations are naturally stressful. However, if we investigated Mrs X’s complaint it is unlikely we would decide her distress, or the police investigation, were due to fault by the Council. We should not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman