Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council paid a financial remedy to her children. Investigation by us is unlikely to achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council agreed to pay a financial remedy for her children to someone else without telling her. She said the Council should have paid the money to either her or her children instead.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council after she found out it agreed to pay another person, Y, a financial remedy for a complaint she said concerned her children. She said it should have discussed the payment with her first.
6. The Council considered Ms X’s complaint about this and other matters under the statutory children’s complaint procedure. This is a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services.
7. The Council told Ms X that Y raised a complaint and therefore, the financial remedy for that complaint was to be paid to Y. It said it could not discuss the details of Y’s complaint with Ms X, as this was Y’s confidential information.
8. The Council told Ms X it had not yet paid the money. It said once it made a decision about the payment, it would tell Ms X what the decision was. The independent panel at stage three of the complaints procedure agreed with this finding.
9. The statutory children’s complaints procedure was set up to provide children, young people and those involved in their welfare with access to an independent, thorough and prompt response to their concerns. Because of this, if a council has investigated something under the statutory children’s complaint process, the Ombudsman would not normally re-investigate it.
10. However, we may consider whether a council properly considered the findings and recommendations of the independent investigation and review panel, and whether it has completed any recommendations without delay.
11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council paid the financial remedy to Y. These matters have already been through an independent investigation. The Council has explained it paid the financial remedy to Y, because Y complained to it.
12. Additionally, an investigation by us would not lead to a worthwhile outcome because we could not share Y’s confidential information with Ms X. We could not say what Y’s complaint was about or why the Council made a payment for this. Nor could we tell Ms X how the Council decided to pay the remedy to Y.
13. Finally, we will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council did not tell her its decision about the payment, as recommended by the independent panel. The Council was not obliged to consider Ms X’s views on the matter, it was only recommended to inform her of its final decision. Ms X says she is now aware the Council has paid the money to Y and so she now knows its decision. Therefore, further investigation into these matters would not lead to a different outcome for Ms X.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman