Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a safeguarding referral in respect of the complainant’s child. The complaint has already been substantially upheld and our intervention would achieve nothing further.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council was at fault in its response to a safeguarding referral regarding her child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s child was the subject of a safeguarding referral. The Council decided the threshold for child protection was not met. Miss X believes the Council was at fault in the way it communicated with her, in failing to take account of information she provided and in failing to support her.
6. Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council. The Council substantially upheld the complaint. It apologised and set out the action it would take to address the fault it had identified. Miss X does not believe the response is appropriate. She wants the individual officers involved in the case to be held accountable for their actions.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because we would not achieve anything significant by doing so. We will not normally intervene to reinvestigate complaints which have already been upheld, as is the case here. The Council’s complaint responses indicate that it has properly considered the matter and the action it has proposed appears reasonable and proportionate.
8. The Ombudsman investigates complaints against councils as corporate bodies. We do not consider complaints against individuals and cannot recommend any action in respect of specific officers. Investigation would not therefore achieve the outcome Miss X is seeking.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it has already been substantially upheld by the Council and our intervention would not achieve anything further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman