Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council failing to provide her with a full complaints response. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that she has not had a full explanation for how her late relative, Mr Y, suffered injuries during a respite stay in a care home in 2023. She says she has been awaiting a response from the Council since February.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)
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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Miss X says injuries were discovered on Mr Y when he was admitted to hospital. And that she complained to the Council, but it failed to respond properly to her complaint.
8. We asked the Council if it had responded to Miss X’s complaint. It sent us two responses it sent to Miss X in February 2024.
9. The Council’s first February 2024 response addressed Miss X’s complaint, but it was concerned with a social worker’s lack of communication. The Council apologised and gave a current update about options being discussed for Mr Y’s future care while he was in hospital. The Council sent a further response in February 2024 responding to Miss X’s dissatisfaction with the first response advising her to get back in contact setting out the reasons for her dissatisfaction. The Council said it did not hear from Miss X again.
10. We will not investigate. Miss X’s complaint is caught by the time bar on the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. We can investigate if there are good reasons, but I do not consider there are any. This is because Miss X could have contacted us within time, in late 2023 once she was aware of the matters she is now raising to us. Her complaint to us shows she was aware of the matters she is now raising to us as a late complaint exceeding our 12-month time frame for raising complaints.
11. Further, there is no mention of injuries in the Council’s response nor Miss X’s original emailed complaint to the Council in January 2024. It appears Miss X’s complaint may also be premature under our procedures as she is raising matters that have not exhausted the Council’s complaints procedure.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman