Cheshire East Council (21 012 775)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 05 Jan 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to issue a letter. Investigation is not warranted by the claimed injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

  1. Mr X, who is a solicitor, said the Council’s failure to issue a letter in accordance with government guidance meant his client, a parent, could not receive public funding and he, the solicitor, could not issue a bill.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. We see no reason why Mr X could not bill his client. Were he to do so, and his client then be unable to pay or be left out of pocket by a failure of the Council to issue a letter, the client could then complain to us about the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because this is not warranted by the claimed injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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