Summary: The Ombudsmen will not investigate Mrs C’s complaints about four different councils. The complaint about Derby City Council is late and there are insufficient grounds to accept in now. The complaints about the other councils appear to have been raised with the Ombudsman without those councils having an opportunity to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs C complains about the actions of Derby County Council, the London Borough of Haringey, the London Borough of Camden and Cornwall Council. The complaints centre on concerns about inaccurate information in Mrs C’s records.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
3. The Ombudsmen cannot investigate late complaints unless they decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to the Ombudsmen about something an organisation has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 9(4).)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mrs C’s written complaints. I contacted each of the organisations and asked for information about how they had handled Mrs C’s complaints, and I considered the information they provided. Mrs C had an opportunity to comment on a draft of my decision and I considered the emails she provided in response.

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What I found

5. Derby County Council advised it last responded to a complaint from Mrs C in October 2017. The response considered Mrs C’s concerns about a report written by an Approved Mental Health Practitioner (AMHP) in May 2017. Derby County Council said it could not alter the report but could add Mrs C’s complaint about it to the system. Derby County Council said it did not receive any further response from Mrs C about her complaint.

The London Borough of Haringey

6. The London Borough of Haringey advised that it has not received any formal complaints from Mrs C.

The London Borough of Camden

7. The London Borough of Camden advised that it could not find any record of a complaint from Mrs C.

Cornwall Council

8. Cornwall Council advised that it did not have a record of a complaint from Mrs C.

Analysis

9. The law says that, before investigating a complaint, the Ombudsmen must normally be satisfied the organisations you are complaining about know about the complaint and have had an opportunity to investigate and to reply. All local authorities, NHS organisations, and many other organisations use their own complaints procedures, which may be different for certain types of complaint.
10. It would be appropriate to allow the London Borough of Haringey, the London Borough of Camden and Cornwall Council the opportunity to consider any complaints Mrs C has about their service before the Ombudsman does. Mrs C should raise the concerns she has directly with those organisations, to be considered under their own complaints procedures.
11. In regard to Derby County Council, we expect complaints to be made to us within 12 months of a person becoming aware of the issues they wish to complain about. If the complaints come to us outside of that time we consider them to be ‘late’. In some circumstances we may still be able to investigate even if a complaint is late.
12. Mrs C complained to the Ombudsmen in August 2020. This means that her concerns about Derby County Council are late.
13. There is no clear explanation for the delay. It is apparent that Mrs C has been capable of making complaints to a variety of organisations and has been doing so for a period of years. Various complaint responses have directed her to the Ombudsman during this time. Therefore, I do not consider there is a persuasive reason for the Ombudsman to exercise discretion and set aside the time limit to consider this late complaint.

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Decision

14. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs C’s complaints about Derby County Council. The complaint is late and there is insufficient grounds to accept it now.
15. It would be too soon for the Ombudsman to consider Mrs C’s concerns about the London Borough of Haringey, the London Borough of Camden or Cornwall Council. They should be given the opportunity to consider Mrs C’s concerns first. Mrs C could return to the Ombudsman after this has happened, for a fresh assessment.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman