The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints about the accuracy of the Council’s internal correspondence or its use of language regarding service users. This is because the Council has already apologised to Mrs X and sent reminders to its staff about documenting meetings accurately and its use of language. Therefore, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome. We also cannot achieve Mrs X’s desired outcome to discipline staff as the law says we cannot investigate personnel matters.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council, in an internal document in June 2024: inaccurately told staff the LGSCO was not investigating complaints against it; and referred to service users in a negative manner.
Mrs X says the matter caused her frustration and distress.
Mrs X wants the Council to take disciplinary action against its staff.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended) 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X complained the Council, in a presentation during a team meeting, told staff the LGSCO was not investigating complaints against it and had used the word “challenging” to describe some service users.
In its complaint responses, the Council: clarified the presentation was typed during a team meeting and was a summary of what was discussed; said the summary about the LGSCO’s involvement was not accurate, and instead should have said the LGSCO decided not to investigate two complaints because it was unlikely to find fault; apologised for any confusion this caused; said the use of the word “challenging” was in reference to verbal abuse staff reported they had been subjected to by some service users; and acknowledged the use of the word “challenging” did not align with its values and said it reminded staff to ensure meeting minutes are accurate and to use appropriate language.
Analysis We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has acknowledged how its summary regarding the LGSCO’s involvement was not accurate and apologised. The Council also reminded staff to ensure meeting minutes are accurate and to use appropriate language.
Therefore, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and we will not investigate this complaint.
In addition, we cannot achieve Mrs X’s desired outcome for staff members to be disciplined. This is a personnel matter, and the law says we cannot investigate personnel issues. We make findings against the Council, not individual officers.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome. We also cannot achieve Mrs X’s desired outcome because the law says we cannot investigate personnel issues.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman