Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council sending Mr X an automatic reply to an enquiry he made. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that in sending him an automatic reply to an enquiry he made, the Council abused his citizen rights as a vulnerable adult.

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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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In June 2024 the Council wrote to Mr X to set out its position a final time on various issues he had continued to raise with it, with the aim of stopping further contact from him because it had nothing further to add to that which he had already been told.
6. It said he had received multiple responses to his enquiries and had been allocated an officer who had been dealing with him personally. It explained, in relation to support and care needs, it had assessed him as far as it had been able but that it needed him to engage and meet with an officer in person or via a Teams call. It confirmed it recognised him as a vulnerable person and had made reasonable adjustments to suit his needs and preferences.
7. Having set out its position on the various issues Mr X had raised, the Council advised it was unable to assist him further and that any further emails he sent to the Council or Members about the same subjects would not receive a response and that it would have to consider using its unreasonable behaviour policy. When Mr X sent a further enquiry, the Council sent an automatic reply.
8. We do not investigate every complaint we receive. While Mr X may have been upset to have received the automatic reply, he has been told of the Council’s position and received responses to his various queries. The Council is not obliged to go on indefinitely responding to the same matters.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman