Torbay Council (19 016 421)

Category : Children's care services > Looked after children

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 07 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint that the Council has failed to act in the interests of her daughter and her family. This is because Mrs B’s daughter has not consented to the complaint, and the Ombudsman cannot achieve what she wants.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that the Council has failed to act in the interests of her daughter and her family. This has led to her being inappropriately placed in a facility away from her home area with no contact with other family members.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
  2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered what Mrs B has said in support of her complaint and the complaint correspondence provided by the Council.

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What I found

  1. Mrs B’s daughter, who I will refer to as Ms C, is 18. She is currently supported by the Council in a placement away from the Council’s area and the family home.
  2. Mrs B complains that that Council has failed to act in Ms C’s interests and in the interests of her wider family. She complains that the Council has failed to promote contact between Ms C and the family, and argues that the placement is unsuitable. She wants the Council to provide a placement close to home, to promote contact, and to ensure that Ms C’s Education Health and Care Plan is completed.
  3. The Council contends that the placement is appropriate for Ms C’s needs and that she has said she does not want to have contact with her family. It also states that, as, Ms C is an adult and has capacity to make decisions regarding her living arrangements and contact, it must respect her decisions.
  4. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint. The key matters relate to the Council’s relationship with Ms C. As an adult with capacity to make decisions, Ms C would clearly need to consent to a complaint being made about these matters. There is no indication that Ms C would consent to the complaint.
  5. Even if we could investigate the complaint, we could not achieve anything significant for Mrs B. We would be unlikely to be able to share information with Mrs B for reasons of confidentiality, or to question the choices Ms C was entitled to make.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs B’s daughter has not consented to the complaint, and the Ombudsman cannot achieve want Mrs B wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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