Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council is failing to act to prevent his daughter from smoking. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council is failing to act to prevent his daughter from smoking.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr B has said in support of his complaint and the complaint correspondence provided by the Council. I have offered Mr B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

4. Mr B’s daughter is in the Council’s care. He states that the Council has refused to take action to prevent his daughter smoking. He wants the Council to prevent her from smoking and obtaining smoking materials.
5. In response to Mr B’s complaint, the Council has set out the action his daughter’s carer is taking in response to the issue. It has explained that, while it shares Mr B’s concern about his daughter smoking, it believes it is appropriate to allow her to do so within certain limits. It believes a more hard-line approach would be counterproductive. Mr B believes the Council’s response is unreasonable.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part. The Council’s response to the issue is a matter for the professional judgement of the staff involved. Mr B disagrees with that judgement, but it is not for the Ombudsman to decide who is right, or to intervene to substitute an alternative view.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman