Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council has failed to make adaptations to her property. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not completed necessary adaptations to her property. She is also unhappy with an Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment it completed in 2024. She says the Council has treated her as vexatious. Mrs X says she cannot access the upstairs of her property. She says the way the Council has handled her complaint has caused her mental upset.

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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 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, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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 and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X has previously complained to the Ombudsman about the Council failing to make adaptations to her property following an OT report in 2021. In March 2024, we decided not to investigate this complaint as there was not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman about the same matters in November 2024. We decided the complaint was invalid as it related to matters we had previously considered.
8. Mrs X complained to us further in November 2025. She said the Council had still not completed the adaptations. She said she was also unhappy in how the Council completed an Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment in May 2024. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late. The events Mrs X complains of took place more than twelve months ago. If Mrs X was unhappy with that assessment she could have complained to us about it sooner.
9. In any event, even if it was not late, we would not investigate. The records show the assessment was incomplete as Mrs X did not want to engage and wanted the Council to use an earlier assessment. Although Mrs X was unhappy with the assessor’s actions, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
10. Since 2024, the Council has continued to offer Mrs X an OT assessment. If Mrs X wants the Council to progress any adaptations, she will need to engage in this assessment first as the Council needs to assess her current needs. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
11. We will also not investigate the Council’s decision that Mrs X remains a vexatious complainant. The evidence provided demonstrates the Council has reviewed this decision annually. It has set out its reasons why it continues to restrict Mrs X’s contact. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman