London Borough of Havering (23 020 738)
Category : Adult care services > Safeguarding
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Jul 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the details the Council included about him in a safeguarding referral it made. We could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council included factually incorrect information about him when it raised safeguarding concerns about his relationship with his friend, Ms Z.
- Mr X says the comments were insulting and derogatory which caused him distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 friend, Ms X, applied to the Council with Mr X’s support, for help with finding housing.
- The Housing Officer who dealt with Ms X’s case, made a referral to the Council’s safeguarding team because of concerns she had about Mr X’s relationship with Ms Z.
- Mr X was unhappy with some of the officer’s comments about him and complained.
- We will not investigate this complaint. The Council spoke to the Housing Officer to gain an understanding of both sides of the issues. It did not uphold most of Mr X’s complaints, but where it did, it apologised for the distress caused. This was suitable to remedy the distress it caused Mr X. Further investigation would achieve nothing more.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman