Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council’s safeguarding investigation in 2021 and 2022. There is not a good reason for the delay in the complaint being made to the Ombudsman. In any event, we could not achieve the outcomes Mr X seeks.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s involvement in his parents’ adult social care. He said the Council:
• victimised him and discriminated against him;
• undertook a Section 47 enquiry based on factual inaccuracies and prejudice;
• found him guilty of physical abuse yet did not notify him of the outcome; and
• failed to properly consider his complaint and delayed significantly in doing so.
2. Mr X said the matter had knock on impacts, for example he was prevented from accessing healthcare on his parents’ behalf. He wanted independent investigation of the matter. He wanted the responsible staff prosecuted for discrimination, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office. He wanted the Council to be prosecuted for breach of employment laws and for one employee to be dismissed.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X’s complaint relates to the Council’s Section 47 enquiry between 2021 and 2022. The law says people must complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. The Council completed its enquiry in May 2022.
9. Mr X says he first complained to the Council in March 2023, which is when he says the extent of the impact of events became clear. Mr X says the letter, however, was returned unopened. Mr X knew therefore the Council had not received, or acted on, that letter. Mr X made an information request at that time and then complained again in December 2023. The Council issued a final response to Mr X’s complaint in October 2024, and Mr X registered his complaint with us a further three months later.
10. It was open to Mr X to pursue his complaint by writing to the Council again in March 2023 when he became aware it had not received his original complaint. It is not necessary to go on a fact-finding mission before making use of complaints procedures, and this inevitably serves to delay matters. Mr X did not need to make information requests before complaining to us, as we obtain all necessary information when we decide to investigate a complaint. While some of the timescales are explained by the Council’s complaint-handling, there is not a good reason for Mr X’s delays in escalating a complaint. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.
11. In any event, we cannot prosecute councils and their staff, and we cannot make decisions about employment matters. We could not achieve the outcomes Mr X seeks from complaining.
12. It is open to Mr X to escalate a complaint about the right to rectification to the Information Commissioner’s Office. That is the body that deals with complaints about how organisations respond to requests made under the General Data Protection Regulation.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in him bringing the matter to us, and in any event we could not achieve the outcomes Mr X seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman