Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to safeguard Mr X’s parents. The courts are best placed to consider claims for significant sums of compensation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to safeguard his parents, who are now deceased. Mr X says the matter has been ongoing since 2009 and he is preparing to begin court proceedings. Mr X says the matter has caused him significant distress. He wants the Council to pay significant compensation which he says it had promised previously. He seeks £500 per day since 2009.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the matter he complains about has been ongoing since 2009. He considers the Council responsible for his parents’ deaths. He says he is preparing to commence court proceedings against the Council.
8. Where we recommend councils pay financial remedies for distress, it is usually a modest amount of up to £500, intended to be symbolic. It is not our role to award significant sums of compensation in the way the courts can. Where this is a person’s primary goal, we direct them to the courts.
9. Given that Mr X indicates he is preparing to commence court proceedings, and he seeks a significant amount of compensation, it is clear in this case the courts are best placed to consider the matter. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to gather information in preparation for court proceedings.
10. In any event, Mr X’s complaint would also be considered late. While he says new information has more recently become available to him, he has been complaining about the matter for several years and he could have brought the matter to us much sooner.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the courts are best placed to consider claims for significant sums of compensation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman