Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about carers at Mrs X’s independent living accommodation accusing her of being trouble and telling her to return to her room and not come out. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for why Mrs X did not complain about the matter earlier.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains carers at her previous independent living accommodation accused her of being trouble and told her to return to her room and not come out again. She also complains the manager refused to return documents to her on the day she left the address.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The incidents Mrs X complains about happened in 2019 and 2020.
7. We cannot investigate complaints about matters than occurred more than 12 months ago, unless there are good reasons for why Mrs X did not complain earlier.
8. Case notes showed Mrs X was aware of her concerns at the time and that she had raised her concerns with the Council. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have made a complaint at the time.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for why Mrs X did not complain about the matter earlier.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman