Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council recorded Ms X’s experiences of domestic abuse. That is because further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council bullied her and failed to consider evidence she provided about her experiences of domestic abuse. She said the Council wrote a Court report that portrayed her ex-partner positively and did not reflect her daughter’s, Y’s wishes and feelings. She said the Council also allowed her ex-partner to verbally abuse her within meetings, therefore discriminating against her on her race and gender.
2. Ms X states the Council’s actions have affected her health. She wants the Council to work with victims of domestic abuse in an informed way, take disciplinary action against relevant staff, apologise, amend a Court report, and pay her compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• 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))

4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. A hospital made a safeguarding referral to the Council about Ms X’s daughter Y in 2021. The Council held a strategy meeting and proceeded to safeguarding enquiries. It held an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC).
8. Ms X subsequently complained to the Council. She said the Children and Families assessment and report for the ICPC had failed recognise her as a victim of domestic abuse. She said it did not include historical Police reports and referred to domestic abuse as ‘parental conflict’. She said the Council had not provided a domestic abuse lead at the ICPC, ignored evidence she had presented and portrayed her as the perpetrator.
9. The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint at stage one. At stage two, the Council appointed its Domestic Abuse lead to complete an investigation. They upheld ten of the twelve areas of complaint.
10. In response to the stage two investigation the Council:
• Confirmed to Ms X that it continued to implement the Safe and Together Model (a domestic-abuse informed way of working incorporated by the Council in October 2021).
• Agreed to share the learning from the complaint with practitioners.
• Updated the information it held on Ms X’s chronology to reflect Police information.
• Apologised to Ms X and offered a symbolic payment of £300 for the avoidable distress caused.
11. We will not investigate this complaint further as it would not lead to a different outcome. That is because the Council has upheld most of the complaints and taken steps to address the faults identified. It has provided a remedy in line with our guidance. In respect of the two complaints the Council did not uphold, I am satisfied the Council properly considered these. And, although Ms X wants the Council to take disciplinary action against specific staff members; that is not an outcome the Ombudsman can achieve.
12. In Ms X’s complaint to the Ombudsman, she raised concerns about the content of court reports. Ms X would need to raise her concerns with the Court as we cannot investigate the content of court reports.
13. Ms X has also raised several new concerns to the Ombudsman that were not part of her complaint to the Council, specifically around allegations of discrimination and bullying. Ms X would need to raise these concerns with the Council and exhausted its complaint procedure before we could consider them further.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman