Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about safeguarding because it is unlikely we would find fault and there is another body better placed to consider the complaint.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complains the Council has not involved her in or shared the outcome of its safeguarding investigation after she raised concerns about her mother’s care. She says this means she does not know if the Council has acted upon her concerns or if they have considered information from her and professionals involved in her mother’s care.

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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 this complaint.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided and made enquiries to the Council. Ms Y had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

4. Ms Y made raised a safeguarding concern to the Council in September 2020 about the care her father was providing for her elderly mother. She was concerned her father was unable to manage the care her mother needed, and her mother was at risk of neglect. To maintain a good relationship with her father, she asked for the Council to keep her anonymous.
5. Having received the information from Ms Y, our enquiries show the Council has proceeded to follow the safeguarding process under section 42 of the Care Act 2014. We are satisfied the Council has done this without fault.
6. The Council has not shared information about its enquiries or their outcome with Ms Y. The Council says it does not have consent to share information with Ms Y and the consent Ms Y has provided is not sufficient. Ms Y disputes this and has asked for access to this information about her mother.
7. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) considers complaints about requests for access to information. Where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the ICO who are better able to consider such issues than us. Consequently, we should not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault and there is a body better placed to consider the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman