Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council failed to safeguard him from abuse. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to safeguard him from abuse he was experiencing off the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). He said the Council also failed to respond to his complaint under the correct procedure. He wants the Council to apologise for its failings and carry out a safeguarding adult review.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X contacted the Council in May 2024 explaining difficulties he was having with the DWP. The Council met with Mr X to discuss his concerns. It sought advice from an advice centre and signposted Mr X to an agency for support. In its complaint response it explained that Adult Services was not the correct body to investigate his concerns about DWP.
6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council has failed to safeguard him from abuse. We would not expect the Council to investigate Mr X’s concerns about the DWP. He would need to complain to the DWP if he is unhappy with its decision making or staff conduct. The Council signposted Mr X to an agency to support him with his concerns. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
7. In its initial complaint response, the Council said Mr X refused a Care Act assessment in May 2024. In its final response, it accepted that was an error, and that it did not offer an assessment in 2024. That is a minor error in the complaint response which we would not consider has caused Mr X any injustice. We would also not be critical of the Council not completing a Care Act assessment in May 2024. That is because Mr X was not asking for adult social care support, but with help with the DWP.
8. Mr X is unhappy the Council did not consider his complaint through the statutory adult complaints procedure. As Mr X is not receiving adult social care services there is no requirement for the Council to use the statutory procedure. The Council has considered his complaint and fully responded through the corporate process. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman