The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: we will not investigate Mr F’s complaint the Council has dismissed his concerns about the impact of his ex-partner’s conduct on their child because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response and nothing worthwhile we could achieve.
The complaint
Mr F complains the Council has dismissed his concerns about the impact of his ex-partner’s conduct on their child.
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 do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, 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 Mr F and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr F and his ex-partner have a son, B. The Council was concerned about the impact of conflict between Mr F and his ex-partner on B. I have not included the details here to ensure everybody’s anonymity.
The Council held a child in need meeting on 24 October 2024. The Council proposed a safety plan which said Mr F and his ex-partner should not argue in front of B.
Mr F does not believe the Council has taken account of the impact of his ex-partner’s conduct on B. He wrote at length about their domestic arrangements and the impact on B.
The Council responded to his concerns. Again, I have not included the details here to ensure everybody’s anonymity.
Unhappy with the Council’s response, Mr F complained to us. He wants the Council to remove his ex-partner.
The Council has responded to Mr F’s concerns. We could not add to the Council’s response, and we could not achieve the outcome Mr F wants. There is nothing worthwhile we could achieve
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr F’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s response and there is nothing worthwhile we could achieve.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman