Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council delayed moving her daughter, Miss Y, from her children’s residential placement to an adult one. Any outstanding injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation and our involvement would be unlikely to achieve anything meaningful.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the actions of the Council in relation to moving her daughter, Miss Y, from her current children’s residential placement to her new adult one.
2. Mrs X says that as a result, Miss Y was left in danger of not having somewhere suitable to live in her preferred location.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Miss Y was due to move from her residential children’s placement to an adult one mid-2025. Miss Y’s children’s placement was out of the Council’s area and Mrs X had moved there to be closer to her. Miss Y had lived in her children’s placement for several years.
7. The Council originally decided to move Miss Y back into the local area. Mrs X was unhappy with this decision together with a number of other issues relating to the move. She felt the Council had delayed in starting the process to move Miss Y.
8. She was also unhappy with the level of communication, felt there were delaying in completing Miss Y’s amended care plan and was unhappy Miss Y had been left at times without a social worker. Mrs X was also unhappy about the advocacy company the Council selected to represent Miss Y’s interests.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. Following a best interest meeting, the decision was made for Miss Y to remain out of area and to move to Mrs X’s preferred adult placement choice. Although Mrs X found parts of the process frustrating, Miss Y is in her preferred placement. Therefore, any outstanding injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation and further involvement by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to achieve anything meaningful.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because any outstanding injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation and further involvement by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to achieve anything meaningful.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman