Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a carer outside their caring responsibilities. The law prevents us investigating matters that are not related to the provision of adult social care by the Care Provider.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained a carer from the Care Provider made a private arrangement to look after a family member’s (Mr Y’s) animals, then refused to return them to the family after Mr Y had died. She said the Care Provider incorrectly denied knowledge of the arrangement. Miss X said the family had to seek costly legal advice, and experienced significant stress which exacerbated the grief process. They wanted the Care Provider to refund their legal costs and make service improvements.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of an organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. This complaint relates to a carer having allegedly agreed to look after Mr Y’s animals, and then having refused to return them to the family after his death unless the family paid them a significant sum. The family say they had to seek costly legal advice and were able to retrieve the animals with this support.
7. The Care Provider denies having been aware of this private arrangement until after Mr Y’s death. The family dispute this based on their recollection of a verbal conversation with the Care Provider during the complaints process. The Care Provider has reported the matter to the Disclosure and Barring Service, and the carer in question left their role after Mr Y’s death. The Care Provider told Mr Y’s family it agreed the carer’s actions had gone against professional boundaries and conduct.
8. Regardless of whether the Care Provider had any knowledge of the arrangement at the time, it is not a matter the law allows us to investigate. While the Care Provider is a body we can investigate, the action complained about here is not action taken as part of its adult social care function. We can only investigate action taken by an adult social care provider in connection with the provision of adult social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34B)
9. This matter is instead a civil one. It is open to Mr Y’s family to pursue the individual carer directly for reimbursement via the small claims court.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is not about a social care function the law allows us to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman