Assessment Manual

2. Assessment Policy

2.1 Aims

The aim of Assessment is to decide:

“Should we start an investigation into this complaint?” or conversely Is there a defensible reason we should not investigate this complaint?

Assessment Investigators will make any checks which have not yet been done for:

  • reasonable adjustments for disabilities relevant to the assessment process
  • the capacity of the PA; and
  • consent for a Rep to act.

They will then assess cases using the Assessment Code.

There are two stages to considering cases in Assessment – the Jurisdictional Stage and the Discretionary Stage. Each stage contains various tests/questions. 

Not all cases will need to be considered at each stage, and not all tests / questions will apply to every complaint we assess.

2.2 Assessment Process Stage One: The Jurisdictional Stage

This looks at the legal restrictions on what we can do. We can only consider complaints against bodies in jurisdiction (BinJ) and about subjects the Ombudsman is not prohibited by law from considering. Guidance on Jurisdiction contains more information about the authorities and actions we can investigate.  If we are not prevented by law from considering a complaint, there are four basic jurisdictional requirements a complaint should normally fulfil if it is to be considered for investigation:

  • The complaint is made by a member of the public or by a suitable person or representative on their behalf – T A member of the public does not have to live in the area, and can include MPs, councillors and council employees. Complaints made ‘on behalf of’ members of the public may be made by a wide range of people or organisations, but only with their consent. Where someone lacks capacity to complain in their own right, the Ombudsman must consider whether their representative is a suitable person to represent their best interests. See the Guidance on Jurisdiction and our Guidance note on consent for more information  
  • Local complaints procedures should be exhausted – Most BinJ’s operate a two or three stage corporate complaints procedure, and there are statutory procedures for adults’ and children’s social services. The Ombudsman normally expects complainants to be able to demonstrate they have exhausted such procedures before using our service. Even in cases where the complaint is “urgent”, local resolution is preferable.
  • The complaint should have been made in time – The law expects complaints to be made to the Ombudsman within a year of someone becoming aware of the events complained of unless there are good reasons for the delay. The Guidance on Jurisdiction contains more information on this. 
  • Where there is an alternative means of redress, the Ombudsman normally expects people to use it, unless it is unreasonable to do so. There is a wide range of alternative means of redress available to people wishing to appeal against certain decisions they feel are unfair. For example – motorists may appeal against parking tickets,, but there is no appeal against Fixed Penalty Notices or certain other decisions. Our Guidance on Jurisdiction contains further examples. 

If a complaint does not pass the Jurisdictional Stage we will close the case and will not consider the Stage Two discretionary tests.

2.3 Assessment Process Stage Two: The Discretionary Stage

The discretionary stage is based on four inter-related tests.

In some cases, the combined impact of the tests will be considered when deciding whether we will investigate. In other situations, the significance of one particular test may be enough to make a decision. There is more information about assessing each test in the Guidance on Jurisdiction.

  • The Public Interest Test – This assesses the level of wider public interest arising from the individual case. It is important but does not override the other tests if they are plainly not met.
  • The Injustice Test – This assesses the level of personal injustice the complainant claims to have been caused as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the BinJ. The test is also an important factor in our assessment decision because injustice should be the basis of any complaint to us.
  • The Fault Test – This assesses the scale and nature of the alleged fault and whether it is directly linked to the claimed injustice’. It means both maladministration and service failure.
  • The Remedy Test – This assesses how likely it is the Ombudsman will be able to achieve a meaningful outcome to the complaint.

2.4 Exercising Discretion

Once the AT Investigator has exercised discretion to start an investigation, IU will keep the question of whether to end (discontinue) it under review, having regard to injustice, public interest, worthwhile outcome or other body, as set out in the Investigation Manual.

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