Southend-on-Sea City Council (25 017 038)
Category : Adult care services > Safeguarding
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a safeguarding matter because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council excluded him and his brother from their late uncle, Mr Y’s, safeguarding investigation, legal and financial affairs. He said the matter caused them distress. He wants the Council to acknowledge it acted with fault and to provide them with an apology. He also wants the Council to provide them with documents in relation to Mr Y’s safeguarding investigation his social care and legal correspondence about Mr Y’s financial affairs.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council’s records show Mr Y did not want the Council to share any information about him with his family and it had no reason to doubt his mental capacity to make such decisions. We will therefore not investigate Mr X’s complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council had a duty to respect Mr Y’s confidentiality and wishes.
- The Council told Mr X although Mr Y has died, it cannot share any information about its safeguarding investigation in relation to Mr Y, his social care records and any legal correspondence concerning Mr Y’s financial affairs and explained its reasons why. We are not here to decide whether the Council’s decision not to share such information with Mr X was lawful or not. Mr X would need to seek his own legal advice on the matter.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman