Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council’s lack of adult social care involvement for his adult child between 2023 and 2024. Mr X could have complained to us sooner. In any event, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about a lack of social care involvement with his adult child between late 2023 and early 2024. He said his child should have been assessed under the Care Act to safeguard them, and should have been subject to a Section 42 safeguarding enquiry.
2. Mr X said the lack of involvement breached his child’s human rights, and constituted failure to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act. He said this caused significant ongoing harm to his child and significant distress for Mr X. He wanted the Council to accept accountability and provide him with support as a carer.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter, unless there are good reasons.
8. Mr X’s complaint is about a period between late 2023 and early 2024. He complained to us in August 2025, more than 12 months after the events he complains about.
9. Mr X was in contact with children’s services at the time and says he was raising his concerns then that his child required support. His child was already an adult by this time, but remained open to children’s services.
10. Mr X has told us about difficulties he experienced at the time, including mental health difficulties and other family circumstances requiring his attention. Despite these factors, I am satisfied Mr X could have made a formal complaint to us at the time. This is the case even if he did not know about the duties of the Council’s adult services as opposed to those of children’s services.
11. Even if we exercised discretion in this case to consider the matter due to Mr X having found out more recently about councils’ duties towards adults, it is unlikely investigation would result in a finding of fault by the Council. Mr X says children’s services intend to remain involved with his child until the age of 25, and they were involved at the time of events covered by this complaint.
12. The Council’s adult services say they have had no involvement with Mr X’s child. There is no evidence Mr X or other services, including the Council’s children’s services, made a referral to adult social care in relation to Mr X’s child at the time of events Mr X complains about.
13. While Mr X is of the view his child’s circumstances would have met the criteria for a care and support needs assessment and a Section 42 enquiry between late 2023 and early 2024, there is nothing to suggest the Council’s adult services were aware of Mr X’s child.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late, and in any event there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman