Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council handled her case when she was fleeing domestic abuse. The complaint is late and there is no good reason for us to consider it now.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the way the Council handled her case approximately six years ago when she was fleeing domestic abuse and social services were involved in safeguarding her children. She says she was offered accommodation close to her abuser, and a social worker pressured her to accept it by suggesting refusal could place her children at risk. She says this caused significant distress.

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/care provider 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 events Miss X complains about happened approximately six years ago. She says her complaint concerns the way her case was handled at the time and confirms she and her children are now settled in their current home.
6. Miss X says she did not complain sooner because of her mental health difficulties, and because she did not know about the Ombudsman. While I have considered these explanations, I have not seen enough evidence to show she could not reasonably have complained to us sooner.
7. Even if there were grounds to exercise discretion, the significant passage of time means there is limited prospect of conducting a robust investigation. The Council has said that staff and procedures have likely changed since the events occurred and that an effective investigation would no longer be feasible. Given the age of the events, it would be difficult for us to obtain sufficient evidence to establish the relevant facts with confidence and reach a sound conclusion.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because the events happened more than 12 months ago and there is not a good reason for us to exercise discretion and consider the complaint now.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason for us to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman