Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s provision of adult social care services because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s provision of adult social care since she left hospital in 2020. She says she is now in rent arrears due to the lack of support.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)
5. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. The Council has provided records of four complaints received from Mrs X.
10. In October 2020 Mrs X complained about the lack of support from adult social care when she left hospital. The Council responded and gave her details of the Ombudsman. Any complaint to us about the same matters is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.
11. In February 2022 Mrs X complained about the actions of Council social workers. The Council responded and gave her details of the Ombudsman. Any complaint to us about the same matters is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.
12. In October 2022 Mrs X complained about housing benefit payments and the language used by Council staff when communicating with her. The Council responded and gave her details of the Ombudsman. Any complaint to us about the same matters is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.
13. In August 2023 Mrs X complained the Council was responsible for rent arrears at a previous property. She disputed it had paid the right level of housing benefit. The Council told Mrs X it had previously told her of her right to appeal to the Tribunal if she disputed its decisions on housing benefit. It also told her she had the right to appeal its recent refusal to backdate payments. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of appeal.
14. Mrs X complains the Council has refused her claims for a discretionary housing payment. The documents seen show the Council considered requests and awarded payments. It is reasonable for Mrs X to ask the Council to review its decisions if she is unhappy with the amounts awarded.
15. Mrs X complains the Council has not provided her with an advocate. However, I cannot see this was raised in the complaints process. It is reasonable for Mrs X to allow the Council the chance to address this complaint.
16. It is not a good use of public resources to consider complaints about poor customer service when we are not investigating the substantive issues.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is out of time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman