Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to disclose information regarding his children’s welfare. This is because the Council has accepted fault and an investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to disclose information relating to this ex-partner and their alcohol dependency.
2. Mr X said the Council’s actions have caused him and his children stress and upset.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. The Council is currently supporting Mr X and his family with an early help plan. Mr X has parental responsibility for the children Y and D.
7. Mr X complained to the Council after it failed to make him aware of concerns regarding his ex-partner and their alcohol use. He said the issue had caused him and the children stress and upset.
8. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint and conceded it could have been more transparent with him and cited several reasons for why it had not done so including Y’s desires for privacy and complications associated with ongoing court proceedings. The Council apologised and explained it was in the process of implementing remedies which would inform how they would deal with similar situations in future.
9. Mr X remains unhappy with the Council’s response and wants us to find the Council at fault. The evidence shows the Council responded to Mr X by conducting an investigation and identifying areas it could have handled better. The Council has acknowledged this, apologised and considered service improvements to reduce the likelihood of this occurring again. There is no evidence the Council’s actions have caused a significant injustice and the Council’s actions are in line with what we would expect.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we would be unlikely to provide a different outcome for him.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman