Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council completed an adoption assessment. We could not add to the Council’s previous investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council made the decision he and his partner were not suitable to be adoptive parents. He said the Council did not explore its concerns with them and did not consider their strengths as adoptive parents.
2. He said the Council’s actions had caused significant emotional distress and uncertainty. He wants the Council to provide a sincere apology, explain how the situation arose, to update their case records and improve its assessment practices.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, 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

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

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My assessment

6. The Council appointed an independent investigator (the Investigator) to consider Mr X’s complaint. The Investigator identified there were failings in how the Council undertook the adoption assessment. They said the assessment was not timely, that the assessing Social Worker did not read information presented by Mr X and his partner in a timely manner and that there was a lack of management oversight. They also found fault with the Council for failing to speak to Mr X and his partner about its concerns. They said that was not in line with the Council’s principles and meant Mr X and his partner did not get the opportunity to express their views.
7. The Investigator made recommendations to address the faults identified. In its final response, the Council confirmed it had acted upon those recommendations. It also apologised to Mr X and his partner.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. I am satisfied the Investigator fully considered the concerns raised by Mr X; we could not add to that investigation. The Council has taken action to prevent a recurrence of the faults identified and apologised. I am satisfied that remedies the injustice caused. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome. If Mr X has concerns about the accuracy of the Council’s case records, that would be a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office, who is responsible for overseeing complaints about the right to rectification.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s previous investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman