Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council failing to provide her relative, Mr Y, with appropriate support. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s failure to provide her relative Mr Y with appropriate support.
2. She says the assigned worker behaved unprofessionally and failed to ensure appropriate support for Mr Y. She says this caused Mr Y to become seriously unwell resulting in a hospital stay. She would like the Council to provide a remedy and/or compensation.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

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. Mrs X says the Council has admitted some failings in its complaint response for which she would like a remedy.
8. The Council’s response, dated February 2024, admits the officer in question made unprofessional remarks during a visit in December 2023. It found the decisions regarding the level of care and support were appropriate, but it would be taking further action regarding the comments. It also offered Mrs X the opportunity to request a different worker to complete the assessment process.

9. We will not investigate. Mrs 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 12 months of December 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 at the time, that she is now raising to us, therefore exceeding our 12-month time frame for raising complaints.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs 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