Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council considered Mr X’s complaint. We do not consider it a good use of public resources to consider complaints about complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue..

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s delay in dealing with his complaint about the need’s of looked after children in his company’s care.

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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 there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X confirms the Council has resolved the original issue leading to his complaint. However he is dissatisfied with the way the Council considered his complaint and the associated delay.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we do not consider it is good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaint handling in isolation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman