Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council failed to provide him with information about his son. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve anything significant by doing so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council failed to provide him with information about his son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr B has said in support of his complaint and relevant correspondence provided by the Council. I have offered Mr B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

4. Mr B’s son, who lives with his mother, was the subject of a child protection plan. Mr B says the Council was involved with his son from November 2018. The evidence shows that the Council closed his son’s case in April 2020.
5. Mr B complains that, in the period of its involvement with his son, the Council’s social worker only contacted him twice. He regards this as unreasonable, given that he has parental responsibility.
6. In response to his complaint, the Council accepted that it would be appropriate to contact Mr B monthly in future. Mr B was dissatisfied with the response and requested escalation of his complaint. The Council declined to do so as, at the point at which it responded, it had closed the case. There was therefore no basis for further updates.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would add anything substantive to the response the Council has already made. The parties agree on the facts of the case but, as the Council is no longer involved with Mr B’s son, there is no further action for it so take. There is therefore nothing significant to be achieved by investigation.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would achieve anything significant by doing so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman