Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his son’s adult social care provider. That is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about his son’s, Mr Y’s adult social care provider. He said the Care Provider was not registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and that the Council had failed to confirm the qualifications of the owner.
2. Mr X also complained about how the Council sought Mr Y’s views about the Care Provider. He is concerned about how the Council will meet Mr Y’s long-term care needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X complained to the Council in 2018 about Mr Y’s Care Provider and the fact it was not registered with the CQC. The Council did not uphold his complaint. It said the Care Provider did not provide personal or residential care and therefore did not need to register with the CQC.
9. The Council said Mr Y had capacity to make decisions about his care provision. It said an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) had supported Mr Y with his adult social care review. The IMCA confirmed to the Council that Mr Y was happy with his Care Provider. The Council also said no other interested parties had concerns about Mr Y’s care provision.
10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint further. That is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now. The Council directed Mr X to the Ombudsman in 2018. It was reasonable for Mr X to complain to us then. He did not bring his complaint to us until 2023.
11. In any event, even if the complaint was not late, we would not investigate. Mr Y is assessed as having capacity to make decisions about his care. The Council involved an IMCA to ensure his views on the Care Provider were represented as part of the review process. Mr Y is happy with his Care Provider. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council sought Mr Y’s views to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman