Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a lack of support for carers in the Council’s area. This is because many of the issues raised happened too long ago and I seen no good reason why they could not have been raised sooner. We could not add to the Council’s investigation into other matters.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council has failed to properly support carers in the area and that it has failed to properly support her as a carer.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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. In 2020, changes were made to how the Council provided support to carers. This resulted in the Council implementing a carers register which carers can sign up to in order to allow the council to share relevant information.
7. In 2022, Mrs X complained to the Council about a number of concerns she had in regard to support for carers in the area. The Council responded in June 2022, advising how Mrs X could escalate her complaint with the Council or the Ombudsman.
8. In 2024, Mrs X complained that she had been removed from the carers register. In responding, the Council outlined the changes that had been made to the services offered to carers in 2020 and how it informed service users of the changes. It accepted that it had given Mrs X some incorrect information about the carers register in 2022 but told Mrs X the steps she could take to be added to the register.
9. Mrs X also exchanged emails with the Council outside of the complaints process in which she asked questions about services for carers in the area and again asked why she was not on the carers register. The Council responded to Mrs X’s questions and again advised her how she could be added to the carers register.
10. I will not investigate the issues raised by Mrs X in the complaint she submitted in 2022 because this element of her complaint is made late. I see no good reason why she could not have approached the Council sooner if she was dissatisfied with the Councils response.
11. I will also not investigate the issues raised in Mrs X’s recent complaint and correspondence with the Council. Some of the issues raised are the same that were addressed in the Council’s response from 2022 and some are about other matters that happened more than 12 months ago and are therefore late.
12. In regard to other matters addressed recently, the Council has fully answered Mrs X’s questions about support for carers in the area and changes made to services including the implementation of the carers register. The Council has also told Mrs X how she can be added to the Council’s carers register. On balance, I do not consider that further investigation would add to the responses provided by the Council.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because some matters are late and we could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council into other matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman