Staffordshire County Council (23 000 903)
Category : Adult care services > Safeguarding
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Jun 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about safeguarding action taken by the Council. This is because it concerns events that took place more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason to investigate events which took place this long ago. In addition, if we were to exercise discretion we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council removed his wife Mrs X from their home against her will. He said this matter caused them both distress and upset.
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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In March 2022, the Council and the police arrived at Mr X’s home and assisted Mrs X in temporarily moving to a care home.
- Mr X says the Council did this against Mrs X’s wishes and restricted him from speaking to her. The Council has provided evidence showing that it acted in line with its safeguarding processes.
- Mr X wants us to find the Council at fault for its actions. The incident he is referring to took place over 12 months ago. The Ombudsman does not usually exercise discretion to investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so. In this case, if we were to exercise discretion to investigate we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it the concerns events that took place more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason to investigate events which took place this long ago. In addition, if we were to exercise discretion, we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman