Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to end Mr and Mrs X’s approval as Shared Lives carers. That is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to end their approval as Shared Lives carers. They state the Council’s safeguarding investigation which that decision was based on was biased. They want the Council to complete a fresh investigation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council wrote to Mr and Mrs X in August 2018 confirming that it was ending their approval as Shared Lives carers. Mr and Mrs X did not bring their complaint to the Ombudsman until August 2021. Therefore, this is a late complaint, and we should not investigate. We have discretion to set aside this restriction where we decide there are good reasons. In this case I have decided not to exercise my discretion because it was reasonable to expect Mr and Mrs X to have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman