Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a report of fraud. This is because the complaint is made late.

The complaint

1. X complains that the Council failed to respond to a report of fraud that he made in 2024. X says the Council failed to respond to a recent complaint he made about this matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late. I see no good reason why X could not have approached the Ombudsman about this matter sooner.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman