Wiltshire Council (25 000 717)
Category : Children's care services > Fostering
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Jun 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s placement of a young person with the complainant as a foster carer. This is because the complaint concerns matters which are for the courts to decide, and it would be reasonable for the complainant to take them to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council placed a young person in his care without informing him that the young person had a contagious disease.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X is an agency foster carer. His complaint concerns the Council’s placement of a young person in his care. The young person had an infectious disease. Mr X contends that the Council had information in its possession showing that the young person had the disease in latent form at the point at which the placement was made, but that it did not share this information with him.
- Mr X says the disease was active when the young person was placed with him, and he subsequently contracted it himself. He says that, in addition to the significant impact on his health and welfare, he has been caused financial loss. He has asked the Council for financial compensation. In response, the Council has said that it does not have sufficient information on which to consider and respond to a compensation claim.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the matter is, essentially, a complaint that the Council was negligent in failing to disclose relevant information to Mr X, that the Council is liable for subsequent material losses, and that it should compensate him. The Ombudsman cannot determine these matters, which are for the courts to decide.
- To pursue compensation, Mr X may wish to make a claim to the Council’s insurers. If the Council subsequently denies liability, his recourse would be to take the matter to court. There is no role for the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it concerns matters which are for the courts to decide.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman