Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about how the Council handled adult safeguarding concerns. There is not a good reason for the delay in Miss X complaining to us.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s actions during a safeguarding enquiry relating to her mother, Mrs Y. Her complaints included:
• bias towards her siblings;
• wrongly accusing her of abusing Mrs Y;
• failing to act in line with Mrs Y’s Lasting Power of Attorney;
• wrongly moving Mrs Y into residential care; and
• excluding Miss X.
2. Miss X said the matter caused her significant distress and financial hardship. She said the Council’s decision to move Mrs Y into residential care caused Mrs Y’s death. She wanted the Council to apologise and pay a financial remedy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. Miss X’s complaint is about events between late 2022 and early 2023. She was involved and aware of the events at the time.
7. Miss X complained to the Council in early 2023. It says it opened a safeguarding enquiry instead of issuing a complaint response.
8. Mrs Y died shortly after Miss X had complained to the Council.
9. Miss X contacted us in August 2024. She then submitted a new complaint to the Council in May 2025 and it sent her a final complaint response in August 2025.
10. The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter, unless there are good reasons. Miss X first contacted us 18 months after the events she complains about.
11. I do not know whether the Council told Miss X in early 2023 that it would not issue her a complaint response. Miss X may have been waiting for a complaint response from the Council for some of the 18 month period. I have taken this into account.
12. However, it would have been reasonable for Miss X to contact us sooner if she did not receive any reply from the Council. She knew about us, as she had complained to us previously. She has not told us about any reason for the further delay.
13. There is not a good reason for the delay in Miss X progressing her complaint to us, and we will therefore not consider the matter.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman