Gloucestershire County Council (21 005 527)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Sep 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s responses to Mr X’s questions regarding the safety of his children with the new partner of his former partner. The evidence of fault is not sufficient to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council failed to answer his key questions about his children’s safety living with his former partner’s new partner.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X is concerned his children are unsafe with his former partner’s new partner, due to concerns about the man’s previous care of his own children. The Council’s duty is to consider what risk the man may pose and reach a decision what action may be needed. The correspondence between Mr X and the Council shows it has done that. Mr X does not have the same view as the Council. However, a difference of opinion is not evidence of fault.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant it.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman