Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s conclusion that the complainant poses a risk to staff. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council dealt with the matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision to place him on its Employment Protection Register (EPR) because it considered him to pose a risk to staff. Mr X says the Council have no CCTV evidence to support the allegations made against him, which led to the Council’s decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The Council has recorded three incidents where either Council employees, a care provider or the police have reported incidents of violence or abuse from Mr X. The Council recorded these on its EPR.
6. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault with how the Council dealt with the matter. The incidents met the criteria laid out in the Council’s EPR policy for inclusion on the register. There is no requirement within the Council’s EPR policy for any reported incidents to be supported by CCTV footage, and due to the nature of the incidents and where they took place it is unlikely that such footage exists. The Council wrote to Mr X informing him of their decision and advising him of his right of appeal and about how the decision will be reviewed. I am satisfied that the Council followed its EPR policy and therefore I have no grounds to question its decision.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman