London Borough of Croydon (22 017 477)
Category : Adult care services > Safeguarding
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Jun 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a social worker raising safeguarding concerns about Mr X. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the actions of his daughter’s social worker. He says the social worker has acted in a vindictive manner towards him by raising safeguarding concerns about him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s daughter’s social worker raised safeguarding concerns about Mr X. Mr X is unhappy about this and considers the social worker did this to be vindicative as the social worker was unhappy about some of the actions Mr X had taken.
- I have reviewed the safeguarding referral and the supporting documentation which led to the safeguarding referral. It is clear there were concerns raised about Mr X from other sources.
- Under the Care Act 2014, councils must make enquiries, or ensure others do so, if it believes an adult is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect. In this case, the social worker had evidence to be concerned Mr X’s daughter was experiencing, or was at risk of, abuse and neglect. Therefore, the social worker’s decision to raise a safeguarding concern was in line with the law.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman