Summary: We will not investigate X’s complaint about the support their adult child received from the Council between 2019 and 2022. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate. In addition, we are unlikely to find evidence of fault and cannot achieve the outcome X wants.

The complaint

1. X complains the Council failed to provide proper support to their adult child, Y, from 2019 to 2022 when X was in prison. X believes this impacted significantly on Y’s mental health and led to them becoming socially isolated. X wants the Council to award compensation to Y for the impact on their wellbeing.

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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. 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 and 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

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

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My assessment

6. Y has diagnoses of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and Asperger’s Syndrome. Before their imprisonment in 2019, X was Y’s main carer. X was released from prison in 2022.
7. X complained to the Council in late 2023 and again in Spring 2024 about the lack of support Y had received between 2019 to 2022. They said Y did not have the skills to live independently and became socially isolated while X was in prison.
8. The Council responded to X’s complaints in late 2023 and summer 2024, despite earlier explaining X’s complaints were late as they had not been made within 12 months of the issues occurring. The Council provided a detailed account of the support it had provided to Y while X had been in prison. It also explained that it continued to provide ongoing support to Y through an allocated Social Care Practitioner.
9. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. X first complained to us in August 2024 about the Council’s handling between 2019 and 2022. I have seen no evidence to suggest X could not have complained to us sooner, so I will not exercise discretion to investigate the complaint now. In any case, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
10. X says the Council should compensate Y for the significant impact on their mental wellbeing. We cannot achieve this outcome because we do not award punitive compensation or ‘damages’; these are matters for the courts.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is late, there is insufficient evidence of fault, and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman