Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his anonymous referral to Children’s Services because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s investigation, and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council told his daughter and her ex-partner he had made a safeguarding referral about their child. He says he asked to remain anonymous. He says his relationship with his daughter and grandchildren has been damaged as a result. He wants the social worker responsible to be sacked.

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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
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint. It said it had no record of Mr X asking to remain anonymous. In any event, the Council said it was likely Mr X’s daughter and her ex-partner would have worked out who made the referral. The Council directed Mr X to the Information Commissioner who advises on questions of data protection and information rights. The Council said it was satisfied it had dealt with Mr X’s concerns in the best interests of the children’s welfare.
6. We do not have the resources to investigate every complaint we receive. The law allows us to choose which complaints we investigate. Unfortunately, some people who complain to us will be disappointed.
7. We choose to investigate those complaints where we think our investigation will make a difference, both for the person making the complaint and for the public at large.
8. In this case, there is nothing worthwhile I could add to the Council’s investigation.
9. I agree with the Council it is highly likely Mr X’s daughter and her ex-partner could have worked out who made the referral, and so even if Mr X did ask to remain anonymous, the Council’s actions have not caused significant injustice.
10. Further, there is no worthwhile outcome I could achieve by investigating the matter further. Further investigation would not ‘undo’ what has already happened. And we would not recommend disciplinary action even if we found fault. That is beyond our remit.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s investigation, and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman