Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council failed to involve him in its decision-making concerning his daughter and produced an inaccurate assessment. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome he is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council failed to involve him in its decision-making concerning his daughter’s welfare and produced an inaccurate assessment.

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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 further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(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 documents 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 daughter was hospitalised following an incident of self-harm. Mr B complains that he was not invited to the discharge planning meeting. He also complains that the assessment the Council subsequently carried out was flawed and did not reflect his views or those of his daughter.
5. We will not investigate the failure to invite Mr B to the discharge planning meeting. The Council has already accepted that Mr B should have been invited and there is therefore nothing to be gained by investigation.
6. I have considered the content of the assessment the Council completed. It is clear that it has been amended to reflect Mr B’s views. Mr B argues that it is still inaccurate and that it should be withdrawn. That is not something the Ombudsman would seek to achieve. We will not ask councils to retrospectively change the content of assessments because they reflect the council’s understanding at the time they were produced.
7. The most we will normally seek to achieve is that a council agrees to place a record of the complainant’s dissenting views with the file. Mr B has made a formal complaint, so the Council already holds a record of his views and there is nothing further to be achieved by the Ombudsman’s intervention.
8. If Mr B believes the Council holds information about him which is factually incorrect, it is open to him to pursue his right to rectification under the General Data Protection Regulation.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr B wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman