Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council did not complete a grant application. That is because the complaint is late. In any event, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not complete a charitable grant application for an electric wheelchair after it said it would. She said that had resulted in her missing out on an electric wheelchair. She said the Council also failed to tell her that her allocated social worker had left, and that it did not deal with her complaints properly.
2. Ms X wants the Council to apologise, improve its communication and follow its complaint procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. 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:
• Any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement,

• 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms X complained to the Council in September 2022 that she was not told her social worker had left and that they were meant to complete a grant application on her behalf for an electric wheelchair.
9. The Council responded in November 2022. It said it was not usual practice for a social worker to apply for grants, as they could not comment on wheelchair suitability. It offered Ms X an Occupational Therapist (OT) assessment to discuss a referral to wheelchair services.
10. Ms X was unhappy with the Council’s response. She said she did not want an OT assessment. She said she wanted the Council to support the grant application. The Council wrote to Ms X in February 2022. It directed her to the Ombudsman if she was unhappy with its previous response.
11. The Council told Ms X in November 2022 that it would not progress the grant application. Ms X did not complain to the Ombudsman until February 2024. Therefore, this is a late complaint, and we should not investigate. That is because the events occurred more than twelve months before the complaint was brought to us. It was reasonable for Ms X to complain to us sooner if she was unhappy with the Council’s decision.
12. In any event, even if the complaint was not late, we would not investigate. Although her previous social worker agreed to make the grant application, the Council’s complaint response has explained why it will not do this. It has offered an OT assessment to follow up her request for a wheelchair. Further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
13. Ms X is also unhappy about how the Council dealt with her complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaint processes when we are not investigating the substantive matter.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late. In addition, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman