Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care provision at home. The events complained about have been known to the complainant for over 12 months before raising the complaint with the Ombudsman. This is a late complaint and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.

The complaint

1. Ms C complains about the care the Council provided to her relative, Mr D. Ms C says it impacted the family’s ability to spend time with Mr D and caused distress.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

4. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms C complains about Mr D’s care between April and September 2023. These are events that were known about more than 12 months before the complaint to the Ombudsman. This is a late complaint and there is no good reason given for not complaining sooner. I understand Ms C was grieving Mr D’s death over this period, but there was a professional representative dealing with the complaint. The Council gave its final response and signposted to the Ombudsman in June 2024 and the complaint was not then promptly made to us.
8. Even if we decided to exercise discretion to consider this late complaint, it is unlikely we would add to the Council’s response or achieve anything further. The Council accepted where it got things wrong, apologised to Ms C, and provided training to relevant staff to prevent future problems.
9. If Ms C disagreed with the decision the Council made about Mr D’s care she could have challenged it in the Court of Protection.
10. It is unlikely the Ombudsman would achieve the outcome the complainant wants of a refund of their legal costs. The complaints process is free and accessible; so, it was a personal choice to incur those costs.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint because it is a late complaint and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman