Summary: We will not investigate this complaint at this time, about the Council’s safeguarding response for Mr X’s mother. The Council has agreed to our recommendation to make clear to Mr X whether it will help arrange contact between him and his mother. It is open to Mr X to then bring his complaint back to us after matters have concluded.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not respond appropriately when he raised a safeguarding alert relating to family members pressuring and coercing his mother and denying her contact with him. The Council did not communicate with Mr X and it delayed investigating the allegation he made for six months. It then did not investigate properly, for example disregarding video evidence he provided, and wrongly decided emotional abuse had not occurred. This caused significant distress for Mr X and his mother, Mrs Y. Mr X wants explanations and a proper investigation.

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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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In March 2021 Mr X contacted the Council about his concerns his siblings were preventing him from having contact with his mother. The Council decided the issues were around family dynamics rather than Mrs Y being at risk of harm, so it told Mr X in July 2021 that it would not progress a safeguarding investigation.
7. The Council explored options such as holding a family group conference for the siblings to try and reach agreement, although this did not progress. It considered in late 2021 whether it had the power to do anything further, or whether the matter was a private family matter. However, it did not make a decision and so it did not communicate this to Mr X. If the Council considers this a private matter, its delay may have denied Mr X the opportunity to begin private action.
8. We cannot confidently decide based on the current information whether the Council’s delay had a significant impact on Mr X and his mother’s contact. Therefore, I have recommended action the Council should take to progress matters. There may be further injustice caused to Mr X and his mother that will only become clear once matters progress.

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Agreed action

9. Within one month of my final decision, the Council has agreed to clearly communicate a decision to Mr X about whether it has any further powers to intervene, or whether it considers the matter a private one.
10. Depending on what the Council decides, it is then open to Mr X to take any private action he wishes or await the outcome of the Council’s intervention. He may then bring his complaint back to us within a reasonable time after matters have concluded, or if the Council further delays any intervention.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to take our recommended action, and we cannot currently assess the extent of any injustice its actions have caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman