Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to stop providing adoption allowance payments to Mr X. This is because the events complained about took place more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate event that took place that long ago.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council agreed to make adoption allowance payments until Mr X’s adopted children reached adulthood but changed its policy and stopped the payments without warning. Mr X complained the Council’s decision has caused him financial loss.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says the Council wrote to him in 2018 and advised it would make adoption allowance payments until his youngest adopted child turned 18.
7. In September 2020 the Council wrote to Mr X and told him it was changing its policy and would no longer make the payments from January 2021.
8. Mr X wants us to find the Council at fault for changing its policy and instruct the Council to reinstate and backdate the payments. We will not usually investigate events which took place more than 12 months ago if it was reasonable for the complainant to have brought them to the Ombudsman’s attention at the time.

I think you just need a short sentence to explain we consider it was reasonable for PA to have complained earlier because he would have known about the Council's plan by March 2021 at the latest given this was when the payments stopped

In addition, even if we exercised discretion to consider this complaint, we would be unlikely to provide Mr X with the outcome he seeks.

I am not sure this is worth throwing in if you are not going to expand on why we cannot provide the outcome PA is looking for

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the events complained of took place more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate them now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman