The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how a Council Officer spoke to Mrs X during a telephone conversation. That is because we could not add anything to the Council’s previous investigation.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the conduct of a Council Officer (the Officer) who completed a financial assessment with her over the telephone. She said the Officer’s manner was inconsiderate. She said she felt interrogated by the Officer by the questions they asked. She said she has been left feeling distressed and unable to sleep by the Officer’s actions. She wants the Officer to receive training and the Council to review how it provides complaint responses.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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, 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In the Council’s complaint response, it said the Officer’s recollection of the conversation was different to Mrs X’s. It said the questions the Officer asked were to establish whether Mrs X’s mother was entitled to additional benefits. It said the Officer apologised for any upset caused and that the questions asked were not accusations.
Although Mrs X is unhappy with this response, we will not investigate this complaint further. In respect of the Officer’s conduct, we could not add anything to the Council’s investigation. The Council has apologised if the Officer’s actions have caused Mrs X any upset; therefore, there is no outstanding injustice that requires remedying. As the Officer was completing a financial assessment, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the questions asked, to justify our investigating.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not add to any previous investigation by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman