The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to carry out a needs assessment or provide her with support. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve anything worthwhile because any safeguarding concerns would be investigated by the council for the area she lives in.
The complaint
Ms X complains that the Council failed to carry out a safeguarding investigation under section 42 of the Care Act 2014.
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 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 Ms X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complains that the Council failed to carry out the duties under section 42 of the Care Act 2014. She says that the Council failed to support her.
However, Ms X is not a resident of the area covered by the Council. Furthermore, she has already lodged a safeguarding complaint against the council for the area she does live in.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there would be no worthwhile outcome achieved by starting an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman