Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a safeguarding concern. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing the complainant a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that a Council officer failed to follow procedures when making a safeguarding concern about him to children’s services. Mr X says he has received a response to a subject access request and feels that officers used inappropriate language when corresponding about the matter.

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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.

(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. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the safeguarding concern being passed to children’s services. The information was received by a third party and Council employees have a duty to forward any safeguarding concerns raised to children’s services. Therefore, it is unlikely that we would find fault with the officer doing so in this instance.
6. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the language used by officers when corresponding about the matter. This is because I do not consider that this alone has caused Mr X a significant enough injustice to warrant investigation.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing him a significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman