Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of a support worker at a supported living unit. This is because the complaint has been made late and there are no good reasons to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains - on behalf of his relative Ms Y- that a support worker caused Ms Y to become distressed and fearful. He also complains his complaint was not investigated impartially.

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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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The care provider investigated the complaint on behalf of the Council. The care provider said it found no evidence in care records or staff interactions to support Mr X’s allegations. It said Ms Y appeared comfortable during visits, stated she liked all staff, and that no performance concerns had been identified regarding the staff member. The provider therefore concluded there were no grounds to move the staff member.
7. We will not investigate. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain within 12 months of becoming aware of the matters they wish to complain about. The complaint correspondence shows Mr X the issues concerning the support worker began in May 2025. And that he had been raising concerns about staffing information since April 2025. This indicates the key events and alleged injustice were known to the complainant by spring 2025 but Mr X did not raise his complaint to us over 12 months later.
8. While Mr X continued to correspond with the provider and pursued its complaints procedure, I have not seen evidence of any exceptional reasons which prevented him from bringing his concerns to the Ombudsman sooner. The substantive issues were therefore known more than 12 months before the complaint was brought to us. In these circumstances, I do not consider there are good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate a late complaint.
9. Finally, where we are not investigating the underlying issue, we do not investigate complaints about the complaints process on its own. This is because it is not a proportionate use of public funds.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman