Summary: We will not investigate Mr F’s complaint about direct payments during his son’s transition from children’s to adults’ services because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response. The Council is about to respond to Mr F’s complaint about an audit. If he remains dissatisfied once he has completed the complaints process, Mr F can make a new complaint to us.

The complaint

1. Mr F complains about problems he encountered in the management of direct payments for his son. He complains about the continuity of provision during his son’s transfer from children’s to adults’ services, and about queries raised during an audit of his spending.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Mr F and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr F has made a number of complaints to the Council, and to us, about the Council’s handling of direct payments for his son in recent years.
6. This complaint concerns a gap in direct payments when Mr F’s son transferred from children’s to adults’ services.
7. In its complaint response, the Council acknowledged there had been a short gap in the payments. It did not believe there had been an impact on Mr F’s son because his account had been in credit and the Council had backdated payments to cover the gap. The Council said it understood there had been no break in services for Mr F’s son.
8. The Council apologised and explained the steps it would take to avoid similar problems in the future.
9. We will not investigate this issue further as there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response. We recognise Mr F’s frustration, but we consider the Council’s apology an appropriate remedy. As the Council has also explained how it will improve its services, there is nothing worthwhile to be gained from further investigation by us.
10. Mr F also complained about an audit of his spending. He complained he was asked to repay money the Council had agreed he could spend following an earlier compliant to us. He complained the Council had not responded to his concerns.
11. I contacted the Council to ask for an update. The Council said it was about to respond to Mr F’s complaint at the first stage of its complaints process.
12. If Mr F remains dissatisfied once the Council has completed its complaints process, Mr F can complain to us again.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr F’s complaint because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response. If Mr F remains dissatisfied once the Council has responded to his complaint about the audit, he can make a new complaint to us.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman