Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr Q’s complaint that the Council is preventing him from contacting his mother or having information about her. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault, and Mr Q may also be able to make an application to the Court of Protection. Nor will we investigate Mr Q’s concerns about how the Council is treating his mother. He is not authorised to complain on her behalf, and the Police are better placed to consider his concerns.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mr Q, complained that Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is preventing him from having contact with his mother, Mrs Z, or having any information about her. He is also concerned the Council is coercing Mrs Z into doing things against her wishes.

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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
• there is another body better placed to consider the complaint.

(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 considered the information Mr Q provided. I considered the information the Council provided. I invited Mr Q to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Background

5. The Court of Protection (CoP) deals with decision-making for adults who may lack capacity to make specific decisions for themselves.
6. The CoP may need to become involved in difficult cases or cases where there are disagreements that cannot be resolved in any other way. Among other things, the CoP

• decides whether a person has capacity to make a particular decision for themselves
• makes declarations, decisions or orders on financial or welfare matters affecting people who lack capacity to make such decisions.

What happened

7. Mrs Z has been diagnosed with dementia.
8. Mr Q said the Council took Mrs Z into care in 2019. He said she thought she was visiting her daughter and grandchildren. When Mr Q discovered Mrs Z’s whereabouts, he said the Council moved her to another care home. Since then the Council has refused to give Mr Q any information about Mrs Z. It told him she did not want contact with him.
9. The information provided by the Council suggests Mrs Z does not want to have contact with Mr Q. The evidence also suggests Mrs Z can contact Mr Q if that is what she wants. However, Mr Q believes there is evidence of the Council’s coercive control of Mrs Z which is preventing her from contacting him. Mr Q wants to see Mrs Z and says he has evidence she wants to see him.
10. Mr Q is not authorised to pursue a complaint with us on behalf of Mrs Z.

Analysis

11. We will not investigate this complaint.
12. I recognise Mr Q’s desire to see Mrs Z again. I also recognise he does not believe she does not want to see him. However, the information I have seen suggests Mrs Z does not want to see him and that she can contact him if she wants to. So we are unlikely to find fault with the Council if Mrs Z has chosen not to contact Mr Q.
13. It is not our role to decide whether Mr Q should have contact with Mrs Z. Nor is it our role to determine whether she has the mental capacity to make decisions, including decisions about who she should have contact with. That is a matter for the CoP. If Mr Q believes Mrs Z has lost the mental capacity to decide who she has contact with it is open to him to apply to the CoP for a decision on this.
14. Mr Q is not authorised to pursue a complaint with us on behalf of Mrs Z. However, if he believes the Council is coercively controlling his mother, he can report his concerns to the Police. They are better placed to consider the complaint.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate this complaint for the reasons given in the Analysis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman