Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about lack of support for her as a foster carer. This is not warranted by the claimed injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said the Council failed to provide support to her as a foster carer and incorrectly said she cannot be a foster carer due to a disability, as well as denying her a voice. She said a carer concern report, which led to a Council decision that she and her husband should not remain foster carers, was incorrect and inaccurate, with a bullying tone. She said the process had caused extreme stress at a time when she needs to avoid stress due to the need to recover from a serious illness. She wanted the record corrected.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. I gave Mrs X an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

6. The Council had concerns about the standard of foster care Mrs X and her husband were providing. It decided to terminate their approval as foster carers. She and her husband resigned as foster carers.
7. The Council reached its decision after considering a concerns report that was detailed, laying out multiple areas of concern and providing multiple examples, including quotations and references to records. Essentially, the report’s conclusion was that Mrs X had set herself up in opposition to a range of professionals, from the Council and other agencies, and that this had led to actions by her that had breached the minimum standards expected of foster carers. Mrs X has provided a similarly detailed response to the report, refuting the Council’s position.
8. For there to be injustice to warrant an investigation by us, there would need to be doubt about the way in which the Council reached its decision that Mrs X and her husband should no longer continue as foster carers. The content of the report would have been sufficient grounds for it to take that decision. Even if some parts of it could be challenged, the detail and evidence given in the report are such that it is not possible for us to say that the Council could reasonably have dismissed it. Mrs X‘s strong view to the contrary does not change that.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because this is not warranted by the claimed injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman