Hertfordshire County Council (21 007 432)
Category : Adult care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Oct 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about lack of assistance from the Council with his caring responsibilities. The complaint is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council failed between March 2013 and “the same time in 2020” to assist him in caring for his mother and stepfather.
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 the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- According to Mr X’s complaint to the Council, the matters complained of happened between March 2013 and February 2020. The complaint is thus late.
- We may investigate a late complaint if we think there are good reasons. A person may be unaware of a matter until a later time. And a person may be prevented from complaining to us within 12 months of becoming aware, for example, by a council taking months to deal with a complaint via its complaints process.
- In this case, Mr X was aware the Council had declined more than once between 2013 and 2018 to offer him the support he wanted. He also indicated that the matters complained of lasted until early 2020. This is supported by his complaint correspondence with the Council, which also shows no evidence of delay by the Council in dealing with the complaint he made. We are easily contacted by a telephone call. While I do not doubt Mr X’s caring responsibilities meant he was busy, he could have complained to us much sooner after not receiving the support he wanted.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman