Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about adult social care services. The Council’s actions do not cause the injustice complained about and an investigation cannot achieve the outcome Ms B seeks.

The complaint

1. Ms B complains of anti-social behaviour by her neighbour, Ms X. Ms B says the Council’s adult social care department is failing in its role of supporting Ms X at the property. Ms B says the Council cannot be adequately supporting Ms X because Ms X’s behaviour has not improved over the last seven years. Ms B says Ms X cannot live peacefully in the community and the Council should move Ms X to relieve the distress and anxiety Ms X’s behaviour causes to others.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms B does not have standing to make a complaint about Ms X’s care support from the Council’s adult social care department without Ms X’s authority. If Ms X is unhappy with her care support, then that is a complaint only she can make.
6. The impact on Ms B is caused by the actions of Ms X, rather than any action or inaction by the Council’s adult social care support. Even with no fault in the Council’s care support, Ms X may still behave in ways Ms B finds anti-social. Therefore, we cannot make the link that Ms B’s claimed injustice is caused directly by any fault of the Council’s adult social care department.
7. Ms B is clear her complaint to us is about the Council’s adult social care department. Ms B complained to the Housing Ombudsman about Ms X’s anti-social behaviour. That Ombudsman investigated and decided the complaint about anti-social behaviour.
8. We note the outcome Ms B wants from her complaint to us is for Ms X to be moved elsewhere. We cannot order councils to relocate people so we cannot achieve the outcome Ms B wants.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because the Council’s actions do not cause the claimed injustice, and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms B wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman