Summary: Ms F complained about the Council’s handling of a safeguarding allegation against her. We found no fault in the process the Council followed to investigate the safeguarding concerns, and it was entitled to reach its view. However, it was at fault for failing to share the outcome of its safeguarding investigation with Ms F and causing delays in its complaints handling. Its apology was enough to remedy the injustice this caused her.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms F, complained about the Council’s handling of a safeguarding investigation against her regarding physical, emotional and financial abuse of her mother. She said it:
• caused delays in responding and investigating safeguarding concerns;
• failed to properly consider the evidence she provided, and wrongly concluded the safeguarding concern based on unreliable sources with malicious intent and failed to provide evidenced justification for its decision; and
• failed to help her resolve her issues with her mother and arrange mediation which it had agreed to.
2. As a result, Mrs F said she had experienced distress due to the safeguarding allegations against her, and as she had lost contact with her mother and had concerns about her wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of my investigation, I have:
• considered Ms F’s complaint and the Council’s responses;
• discussed the complaint with Ms F and considered the information she provided;
• considered the information the Council provided in response to my enquiries: and
• considered the relevant law and guidance to the complaint.
6. Ms F and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Safeguarding

7. Under section 42 of the Care Act 2014, councils have a duty to make safeguarding enquiries if they reasonably suspect an adult who has care or support needs is at risk of being abused or neglected and cannot protect themselves.
8. The main purpose of a safeguarding enquiry is to decide whether or not the council, or another organisation, or person, should do something to help and protect the adult.
9. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance sets out what a safeguarding enquiry should look like. The guidance says it is for the council to determine the appropriateness of the outcome of the enquiry. A council can stop a safeguarding enquiry if it is satisfied there are no safeguarding issues, or the risk has been managed effectively.

The Council’s safeguarding guidance for staff

10. The Council’s safeguarding guidance for staff says a key point in safeguarding and risk assessments is to “involve the person at risk at all stages as far as possible”.
11. The Council’s guidance says a best practice tip about recording and sharing its safeguarding decision includes “the views of the person at risk or their representatives”. It also says staff are to make sure to update the person who raised the safeguarding concern, and the person at risk, of its decision, and record that it has done so.
12. The guidance says to make sure the person at risk or their representative have been informed of a decision to close a safeguarding enquiry. It says to make sure this has been recorded in the case notes.

The Council’s complaints procedure

13. The Council has a one-stage complaints procedure for adult social care complaints. A complainant can ask the Council to review its complaint response. The Council’s website says:
14. “If you think that the stage one response to your complaint hasn’t answered all of the points in your complaint, or considered all of the evidence you provided, you can ask that we complete a stage one review of your complaint.”
15. The website says the Council will then assess whether a review is necessary.

What happened

16. Ms F lives in the Council’s area with her children. She has several siblings, but the relationship with her sister, Mrs Y, is poor and has required police involvement.
17. In 2019, Ms F helped her mother, Mrs X, to move to the Council’s area through a house swap. Ms F obtained a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPOA) to manage Mrs X’s financial affairs and opened a joint bank account and moved in with her.
18. Ms F said Mrs Y asked to see Mrs X in 2021 and again in Spring 2022, when she brought Mrs X to see her. However, Mrs Y then demanded Mrs X’s bank card from her, which she refused. Mrs Y then refused to send Mrs X home.
19. Mrs Y reported a safeguarding concern to the Council against Ms F as Mrs X had said she experienced physical violence, were not given food, and Ms F had wrongly used her money and did not give her access to her money. Mrs Y also reported the concerns to the police.
20. The Council started a safeguarding concern and met with Mrs X and Mrs Y. Mrs X confirmed the allegations to the Council and said she did not want to return to live with Ms F. It decided further enquiries were necessary.
21. The Police considered Mrs Y’s reported concerns but found there were not enough evidence a crime had been committed and considered the issue a civil matter between the family.
22. The Council’s allocated safeguarding Social Worker discussed the case with Mrs X, Mrs Y, Ms F and the Police. As Mrs X did not want to return to live with Ms F, she asked her to give Mrs X her bank card.
23. The Council spoke with Ms F in Summer 2022. She said she had supported Mrs X but agreed she had used some of Mrs X’s money for herself.

Ms F’s complaint

24. Ms F was unhappy about the serious allegations which had been made against her. She complained to the Council about:
• its handling of the case as she felt it had failed to consider the history and information she provided, and failed to help resolve issues between her and Mrs X. She said it instead investigated her based on Mrs X’s and Mrs Y’s allegations of physical and financial abuse;
• its Social Worker actions and behaviour as she had asked her to give Mrs X her bank card when Mrs F has a LPOA for finances, and had hung up on Ms F’s daughter during a call;
• Mrs X had been removed from her home and isolated from Ms F and her family. She believed Mrs X was at risk of abuse and neglect while living with Mrs Y; and
• The Council failed to share the outcome of the safeguarding investigation with her.
25. In response the Council partly upheld Ms F’s complaint as it found it had failed to share the outcome of the safeguarding investigation with her, and it acknowledged it Social Worker had ended a call. However, it found:
• it had properly considered the safeguarding concern and it was its statutory to do so. It reached its view there was no evidence of physical abuse, but Ms F had inappropriately used Mrs X’s money;
• it had based its conclusions on information it received from Mrs X and Ms F. This included Ms F had arranged for Mrs X’s house swap, but Mrs X said she had not agreed to this, and she had since confirmed where she wished to live;
• its comments and responses had not been insensitive to Ms F but acknowledged it may have been difficult for her to hear. It also acknowledged its Social Worker had ended a call, but explained this was due to the highly expressed emotions; and
• it had signposted Ms F to a mediation service.
26. Ms F asked the Council to consider her complaint again as she did not agree with the outcome of her complaint. However, in its final complaint response, the Council told her it had not changed its view.
27. Ms F asked the Ombudsman to consider her complaint.
28. Ms F has since raised concerns about Mrs X’s wellbeing in Mrs Y’s home and said she had been taken abroad where she is not cared for. She shared this information with the Council and the local authority where Mrs X and Mrs Y lives.

Analysis and findings

Safeguarding investigation

29. The Ombudsman’s role is not to reach a view on whether the Council’s decisions on safeguarding concerns are correct, but whether it followed the Care and Support Statutory Guidance process and considered all relevant information to reach its view.
30. The Council received allegations about Ms F having physically, emotionally and financially abused Mrs X. While I acknowledge the allegations caused Ms X distress, the Council had a duty to consider the safeguarding concerns it receives about residents in its area. It was therefore not at fault for investigating the concerns raised to it.
31. I found no fault in the process the Council followed to reach its decisions and outcomes on the safeguarding concern. This is because it:
• logged the concerns it received and met with Mrs X and Mrs Y to discuss the concerns without delay. The records also show it considered whether there were any evidence relating to physical violence at the time;
• discussed the concerns with Ms F to obtain her views and response to the allegations made against her. She confirmed she had used some of Mrs X’s money for herself, but denied physical violence and withholding food;
• considered and discussed with the police the allegations which Mrs Y had raised, including the outcome of the police investigation;
• discussed the safeguarding concerns with other relevant family members;
• communicated with the Office of the Public Guardian regarding Ms F’s LPOA and Mrs Y’s application to have LPOA to enable it to reach its decisions on who should be allowed to act on Mrs X’s behalf; and
• reached its view there was not enough evidence physical violence had occurred but found financial abuse had taken place.
32. I acknowledge Ms F believes the Council should have considered the family history and information more. However, its role was to consider the safeguarding concern against her. It had no power to direct where or with who Mrs X decided to live.
33. As I am satisfied the Council followed an appropriate process and I have seen no evidence the Council caused delays, it was entitled to reach its views and share the outcome of its decision. It was also entitled to close its investigation as it was satisfied the identified risk was no longer present.
34. However, the Council agreed it had failed to share the outcome of its safeguarding investigation with Ms F until she brought this to the Council’s attention. This was fault. It apologised and shared the outcome with her.
35. I am satisfied the Council’s apology was enough to remedy the injustice this caused Ms F considering the delay was limited and no further action was taken. It has also reminded its staff to ensure outcomes of its safeguarding investigations are shared in a timely manner with the persons involved. I have therefore not made any recommendations for this fault.

Communication with Ms F

36. The Council did not agree it had communicated inappropriately or unprofessionally with Ms F. However, it agreed its Social Worker had ended a call with Ms F and her daughter due to the emotions which were expressed during the call.
37. I have considered what Ms F said, the notes recorded by the social worker and the correspondence between the Council and Ms F. I have not found the Council at fault as I have not seen evidence the Council’s communication with Ms F was inappropriate.
38. I understand Ms F feels it was inappropriate for the Council to ask her to hand over Ms X’s bank card as she had LPOA at the time. However, Mrs X’s capacity was not in question at the time, and she told the Council she did not want Ms F to manage her finances. The Council was therefore not at fault for asking Ms F to return the bank card to Mrs X in line with her wishes.
39. I cannot reach a view on whether the Social Worker was wrong to end the call with Ms F and her daughter or spoke inappropriately, as the call recording is not available. However, the Social Workers record shows she ended the call as Ms F daughter was emotional and would not let her talk. I have therefore not made a finding on this point.
40. I am satisfied the Council’s action to discuss Ms F’s concerns about the call and communication with its Social Worker was appropriate.
41. In addition, I understand Ms F wanted mediation with Mrs X to resolve their issues. However, I have not found the Council at fault on this matter. This is because there was no duty on the Council to arrange this and it provided her with information about mediation services in late 2022.

Complaints handling

42. When Ms F complained to the Council, it did not respond within the timescales set out in its complaints policy. It did write her to inform her its response was delayed and it would provide its response soon, and it apologised for the delay.
43. When Ms F asked the Council to reconsider her complaint it told her it would review her request and respond within two week, but it accepted it failed to do so and apologised in its delayed response.
44. There was fault in the Council’s complaints handling due to its delayed response. However, I found its apology was enough to remedy any injustice this caused as:
• it told Ms F about her right to bring her complaint to our attention in its initial complaint response as set out in its policy; and
• I found no fault on the substantive matters complained about.

Ms F’s current safeguarding concerns

45. I understand Ms F has concerns about Mrs X’s wellbeing, believes Mrs Y’s intentions in looking after her are financial, and she has concerns about Mrs X travelling abroad.
46. However, Mrs X is now residing in a different council’s area. It is the local authority where a person lives which has a safeguarding duty to consider such concerns. Ms F has correctly brought her concerns to Mrs X’s local authority attention. If she is unhappy about how it has dealt with her concerns, the next step would be to raise a complaint for its to consider in line with its complaints process.

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Final decision

47. I have completed my investigation with a finding of no fault on the substantive parts of the complaint. The Council agreed it had failed to share the outcome of its safeguarding investigation with Ms F and caused delays in its complaints handling, its apology was enough to remedy the injustice this caused Ms F.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman