The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in seeking a renewed passport for the child looked after by Mrs X. As it is always necessary to ensure a person meets the passport and entry requirements for an overseas destination before booking a holiday, investigation would be unlikely to lead to a finding that fault by the Council caused the claimed injustice.
The complaint
Mrs X said the Council took too long to renew a passport for the child whom she looked after, leading to costs when her family had to change its holiday plans.
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: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.
(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
It is standard travel advice to ensure every person travelling in a party meets the passport and entry requirements for an overseas destination before booking travel. There is no guarantee any difficulties can be resolved in good time.
Mrs X booked travel before approaching the Council to renew the child’s passport. Investigation would not therefore be likely to find the claimed injustice was the result of fault by the Council.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence that fault by the Council caused the claimed injustice to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman