Liverpool City Council (19 016 532)
Category : Children's care services > Looked after children
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that carers failed to stop a child harming his wife. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to apply to Court.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says carers employed by the Council failed to stop a child assaulting his wife.
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)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint. I discussed a draft version of this decision with Mr X on the telephone.
What I found
- Mr X says in November 2019, in a shopping precinct, a child, aged around 13, attacked his wife. He says carers accompanied the child. He says they did not carry any identity on them but told him their company’s name.
- Mr X says he contacted the Police. He says they decided to take no further action. Mr X also complained to the carers’ company.
- The Council has confirmed it employed the carers to accompany the child.
- Mr X says he believes they should be paid compensation for having to endure the incident and the carers should carry identity on them.
- The Council says the carers from that company now do carry identify.
Analysis
- We would need Mrs X’s consent to be able to investigate the complaint further.
- The Council has already put right the identity documents issue.
- Whether the Council is liable for personal injuries to Mrs X is something which the Courts are better placed to consider. It is reasonable to expect Mr and Mrs X to take legal proceedings, because of the existence of no win no fee arrangements for personal injuries and because of unclear liable.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to apply to Court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman