Summary: We have upheld Ms X’s complaint about the Council not completing a Care Act assessment in February 2025 as promised. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X for this fault, which provides a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused. We will not investigate the other part of Ms X complaint because it is late.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council ignored her requests for support and respite from caring for her child, who has special educational needs. She wanted the Council to review her needs and provide 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. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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

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. The Council’s initial response to Ms X’s complaint explained it had no record of her asking for support in June 2024. Ms X then clarified she made her request in June 2023. The Council confirmed it had received Ms X’s request for support in August 2023. It had completed a Carer’s Assessment for Ms X and provided two carer grant payments. The Council had also referred Ms X to its Occupational Therapy Team, who had provided equipment to help Ms X with her mobility outside the home.
7. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Ms X has been aware of the issues complained of since Summer 2023, which is more than 12 months before her bringing this complaint to us. Her complaint to us is late and we will not investigate.
8. We can exercise discretion to consider late complaints if there is good reason to do so. I have not asked whether there is a good reason, because even if we investigated we are unlikely find evidence of fault. The Council did act upon Ms X’s request for help in 2023.
9. In late January 2025, the Council told Ms X it would visit her to complete a Care Assessment of her care and support needs on 26 February 2025. Ms X advised us this visit did not take place and the Council has offered no support since then.
10. In response to our enquiries, the Council has acknowledged it failed to complete the visit in late February as promised. If we investigated this element of Ms X’s complaint, we would be likely to find fault with the Council.

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Agreed action

11. To its credit, the Council has acknowledged its fault in not completing the February visit and assessment. It has recently completed the assessment of Ms X’s care needs and offered a package of support. The Council has also offered to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X by way of a written apology and remedy payment of £500. The Council should complete this action within one month of the date of this decision and provide us with evidence to show it has done so.
12. I am satisfied this action is a reasonable remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X and we could achieve nothing more by investigating the matter further.

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Final decision

13. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman