Summary: Miss X complains the Council did not take appropriate action when she raised safeguarding concerns about her family member. We find no fault with the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not take appropriate action when she raised safeguarding concerns about her family member.
2. She says this caused her avoidable and unnecessary distress and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We may investigate complaints from the person affected by the complaint issues, or from someone else if they have given their consent. If the person affected cannot give their consent, we may investigate a complaint from a person we decide is a suitable representative. (section 26A or 34C, Local Government Act 1974)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. Miss X complains about matters which began several years ago. She complained to the Ombudsman in April 2025. As I have said above, we cannot investigate complaints about matters more than 12 months ago unless there are good reasons. I consider Miss X could have complained sooner about these matters. For this reason, I will start my investigation in April 2024.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered all comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

10. A council must make enquiries if it thinks a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themselves. An enquiry is the action taken by a council in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. An enquiry could range from a conversation with the person who is the subject of the concern, to a more formal multi-agency arrangement. A council must also decide whether it or another person or agency should take any action to protect the person from abuse. (section 42, Care Act 2014)
11. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the statutory regulator of care services. It keeps a register of care providers that meet the fundamental standards of care, inspects care services, and reports its findings. It can also enforce against breaches of fundamental care standards and prosecute offences.
12. The Council’s multi-agency concern procedure says that when care provision concerns are identified, a multi-agency response may be required to determine if any associated risk could be impacting the health, wellbeing and safety of people using the service.
13. It says relevant professionals may identify wide ranging concerns, which could trigger a formal Multi-Agency Concern (MAC) meeting. Concerns could include a pattern of individual safeguarding concerns, incidents or complaints which seen collectively indicate organisational issues.
14. It says where there are significant or repeated concerns about a provider then health and adult social care workers will undertake a planned and managed approach with the provider over a period of time. This could include a programme of repeat visits and repeat monitoring until they are satisfied with the provider’s response.

What happened

15. Miss X’s family member, Mr Y, lived in a care home. The care home was in Rochdale, “the Council”. The care home placement was commissioned and funded by Local Authority B.
16. In April 2024, Miss X reported her concerns about the care home to the CQC. The CQC sent a safeguarding referral to the Council. Miss X also contacted the Council to report her concerns. The same day, the duty social worker called Miss X to discuss her concerns further. The duty social worker escalated the concerns to the care commissioning department. The duty social worker advised Miss X to contact Local Authority B to find Mr Y an alternative placement. The next day, the duty social worker contacted the care home manager to discuss the concerns.
17. In May, the Council held a multiagency meeting to discuss the concerns raised about the care home. The meeting was attended by senior Council officers including the quality assurance team and professionals from the CQC and NHS. The attendees agreed the Council would conduct an unannounced visit to the care home and to arrange another multiagency meeting and invite the care home owner and manager.
18. In early June, the Council completed an unannounced visit to the care home to identify any improvements needed.
19. Three weeks later, the Council completed a second visit to the care home to monitor the improvements made. The same day, it held another multi-agency meeting to discuss the concerns. The attendees included senior Council officers including quality assurance officers, professionals from the CQC and NHS and the care home owner and manager. The meeting minutes detailed welfare visits were completed for each resident. The care home agreed an action plan to address ongoing concerns.
20. In January 2025, Miss X told the Council she was unhappy Mr Y was still at the care home. The Council contacted Local Authority B directly.
21. In March, Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council.
22. In late March, the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint. It told her if had considered her concerns under its multi-agency concern procedure. It said following her complaint, its senior quality assurance officer visited the care home to investigate her concerns and contacted Mr Y’s social worker from Local Authority B. It told her it could not consider some information she had provided and explained its reasoning.
23. To date, the Council has continued to monitor the care home’s actions and service improvements.

Analysis

24. Following the safeguarding referral, I am satisfied the Council made sufficient enquiries and directed Miss X to share her concerns with Local Authority B to arrange Mr Y to be moved to another placement. The Council identified the concerns raised met the criteria for its multi-agency concern procedure and I am satisfied it acted in line with its procedure. I am satisfied the Council treated Miss X’s safeguarding concerns with sufficient seriousness and completed welfare checks for each resident. It has continued to monitor the care home’s service improvements. I find no fault with the Council’s safeguarding investigation.

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Decision

25. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman