Kent County Council (25 016 530)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to his parent’s care and support needs. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why he did not complain to us sooner.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council’s actions in relation to his mother, Mrs Y’s and his late father, Mr Y’s care and support needs. He said the matter caused him distress. He wants the Council to acknowledge it acted with fault, apologise to him and provide a financial remedy for the injustice caused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X said his mother, Mrs Y, had a brain injury in 2021. Following this, the Council completed a care needs assessment and provided care to Mrs Y. Mr X said the Council did not complete a review of his mother’s care needs for two years. In addition, Mr X said during this time, the Council did not properly complete financial assessments in relation to the care it provided for his mother.
- Mr X also said his father, Mr Y, became unwell in early 2023. He asked the Council for an emergency package of care to support his care needs. Mr X said the Council delayed arranging care for his father and as a result, his father died without any support in place.
- The law prevents us from investigating matters which occurred more than 12 months ago unless there are good reasons why the complaint is late. The matters Mr X complains of happened between 2021 and 2023 which is more than 12 months ago. Mr X was aware of the matters he complains of at the time. There are no good reasons why he did not complain to us sooner. Therefore, we will not investigate Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why he did not complain to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman