The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council has treated Mr B for the past 30 years. This is because we could not add to previous responses Mr B has received from the Council.
The complaint
Mr B complained that he has been denied services from the Council for over 30 years. Mr B says the way the Council has treated him has affected the way Mental Health services, the NHS and the Police deal with him. Mr B says safeguarding are not interested in assisting him and he has no fixed address.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal; or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr B complained to the Council in 2023 about his accommodation and access to housing. The Council explained in its response dated February 2023 it had not received any formal approach from Mr B since 2016 other than a telephone call in October 2021 when it could not open a case or assess his needs because he had refused to answer questions and terminated the call. It advised Mr B how he could escalate his complaint if he was not happy with the outcome of his complaint but advised it will not consider historical matters. We could not add to this or make a different finding.
Mr B wants the Council to investigate his historical complaints. The Council has explained it will not do this. We cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so. The Council advised Mr B in April this year that historical criminal matters must be reported to the police. Mr B will need to report his allegations about past crimes to the police, only the police can investigate criminal matters. We cannot investigate the police and could not say the Council should investigate complaints. Mr B could have come to us before now if he was unhappy with the Council’s actions.
Mr B asked the Council for the names of officers/staff involved in a safeguarding investigation in 2018. The Council refused to provide this. If Mr B believes the Council is withholding information he wants and is entitled to have, he can ask the Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) to consider whether he should have this information. We cannot provide Mr B with the names he wants.
Mr B says the Council has conspired with the NHS And Mental Health services to deny him access to services he needs. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. We cannot investigate the actions of the NHS or health care providers.
The Council explained to us that Mr B has contacted it recently, but he will not confirm whether he is living in the area and has declined offers of help. If Mr B is living in the area and wants the Council to assess and assist him with accommodation or care he will need to contact it and engage in the assessment process so the Council can properly assess his needs to determine whether he is eligible for support.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we could not add to responses Mr B has received from the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman