Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about matters related to her late mother’s care. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to consider it now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about:

• the care home’s excessive requests for clothing and other items for her late mother up to 2021;
• the Council incorrectly charging top-up fees until 2021; and,
• the Council’s delay in providing the requested information and its handling of the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms X was aware about issues related to the top-up fees and excessive expenses in the time prior to her mother’s death in 2021. I will not investigate this aspect of her complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to disapply the time limit.
9. It is not good use of public money to investigate the Council’s complaint handling in isolation when I will not investigate the substantive matter.
10. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the Council’s delay in sending the requested evidence. The ICO is better placed to consider such matters.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman