Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about how the Care Provider and the Council handled allegations made against Mr Y and Miss X. There is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Miss X and Mr Y complained about the actions of the Care Provider and the Council when considering allegations against them. The allegations related to their interactions with their family member, Mrs Z, who received care in the care home. Their complaints included:
• the Care Provider failed to consider the family dynamics or investigate the matter itself before making a safeguarding referral to the Council;
• the Care Provider failed to keep records of the alleged incidents, and failed to tell the Council about the relevant family dispute;
• the Council was biased in its investigation, giving more weight to other family members’ accounts of events, failing to consider the family dynamics and failing to consult with Miss X and Mr Y; and
• wrongly stopped Mr Y visiting Mrs Z in the care home.
2. Miss X and Mr Y said the matter caused them and their immediate family significant distress, deprived them of time with Mrs Z and caused risk to their reputation. They wanted acknowledgements of fault in how the matter was handled, amendments to records, service improvements, apologies and for their legal costs to be paid.

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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 or care provider 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. Mrs Z lived in the care home, commissioned by the Council, in 2022. The Council wrote to Mr Y in August 2022, explaining allegations had been made against him and advising he should not visit Mrs Z. He was also prevented by the care home from having contact with Mrs Z when he attended the care home. Allegations had also been made that Miss X had observed incidents between Mr Y and Mrs Z. The Council told Mr Y it was open to him to make a formal complaint about the matter. Mrs Z died in September 2022.
7. Miss X and Mr Y complained to the Ombudsman via a solicitor two years later, in September 2024. The law says people must normally bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. In this case, the 12 month period began in August 2022. The complaint to us is late, so I have considered whether there are good reasons for the delay that would justify us considering it.
8. The solicitor told us Miss X and Mr Y felt unable to complain until after they had received information from the Care Provider and the Council. They said before then, Miss X and Mr Y could not properly understand the allegations or how matters had been handled.
9. We do not require complainants to investigate matters themselves, or to gather evidence to support their case, before complaining to us. When we decide to investigate complaints, we obtain all the necessary information. Mr Y and Miss X knew in late 2022 that allegations had been made, resulting in a decision Mr Y should not visit Mrs Z. They had sufficient reason at that point to complain.
10. The solicitor referred to delays by the Care Provider and Council as part of the reason the complaint was made late to the Ombudsman. However, the time it took the Council and Care Provider to respond to requests for information and correspondence from the solicitor did not account for a significant proportion of the two year period.
11. Miss X and Mr Y did not begin to progress the matter until 11 months had already passed following Mrs Z’s death. I have accounted for some natural delay due to grief, and the distress they say the events caused them. However, they ultimately sought support from a representative to complain, which they could have done sooner if they did not feel able to make the complaint themselves. It is not necessary to use a legal representative to complain to the Ombudsman, however I have accounted for the fact some of the intervening period was due to Miss X and Mr Y enlisting this support to complain.
12. The above reasons collectively explain some of the time it took for the matter to be brought to us, but do not explain a total of 25 months between becoming aware of the matter and complaining to us. I am satisfied Miss X and Mr Y could have brought a complaint to the Council, and then us, by August 2023, and so there is not good reason for us to disapply the timescales set out in law and consider the matter now.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X and Mr Y’s late complaint because there are not good reasons for the delay in them bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman