The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an incident that took place at the Council’s family hub. This is because the Council has already upheld Miss X’s complaint, made changes to improve safety and apologised for the incident. We consider this to be a satisfactory remedy to Miss X’s complaint.
The complaint
Miss X complained her son fell from a mat because the staff member weighing the child had moved the mat to an unstable position.
She says the staff member did nothing to help after her child fell.
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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has already accepted fault for the incident and apologised to Miss X.
The Council also told Miss X what steps it will take to improve safety and service delivery at its clinics. We consider this to be a satisfactory remedy to Miss X’s concerns.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has already upheld her complaint and said what it will do to improve safety at its clinics. We consider this to be a satisfactory remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman