Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with an allegation of harm to a child. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, any injustice has already been remedied by the Council and there is another body better placed to investigate.

The complaint

1. Ms X says her child was injured at nursery and complains that the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) did not properly investigate this. She says the LADO allowed the nursery to investigate itself, did not obtain evidence, did not share a report with her and misled both her and the police. Ms X says this has caused anxiety, affected her work and had a financial impact. Ms X would like the Council to reopen the investigation, provide the report, apologise, make policy changes and discipline staff.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint

(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 Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code, statutory guidance and information from the National LADO Network’s website.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complains that the LADO did not investigate her allegations and allowed the nursery to investigate itself. Ms X also complains the LADO did not review available closed-circuit television (CCTV). Instead, the nursery reviewed the CCTV, and the LADO considered its findings.
6. We will not investigate these complaints. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. The role of a LADO is set out in statutory guidance. This states the LADO does not carry out investigations but oversees and directs them. Here, the LADO reviewed the nursery’s report and decided the threshold for investigation was not met. This was because there was no allegation against an individual at the nursery, and no evidence the injury happened at nursery.
7. The Ombudsman cannot question whether a Council’s decision is right or wrong simply because a complainant disagrees with it, unless there is evidence of fault. In this case, the LADO acted in line with statutory guidance by considering the nursery’s internal report, including its review of CCTV. The Council explained the reasons for this decision to Ms X. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decisions.
8. Ms X complains the Council has failed to provide her with a copy of the Nursery’s internal report. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent authority on data protection and information rights and is therefore best placed to determine if the Council ought to have provided the information Ms X requested from it. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to complain to the ICO therefore and as such, we will not investigate.
9. Ms X says the LADO misled her as they told her they would carry out the investigation themselves. She also said they told her they would not review the CCTV because they didn’t have time. The LADO says they explained their role, and that they did not have investigative powers so could not review the CCTV. In response to Ms X’s complaint, the Council apologised for any confusion and clearly explained the correct position. We will not investigate this complaint as the Council’s actions are sufficient to remedy any injustice to Ms X.
10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the LADO misled the police. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation and there is another body better placed to investigate. Ms X says the police decided not to investigate because the LADO had carried out a robust investigation. However, she says no investigation occurred. For the reasons set out above, the LADO was not required to carry out an investigation. If Ms X is unhappy with the police’s decision, it would be reasonable for her to complain to the police.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, any injustice has already been remedied by the Council and there is another body better placed to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman