Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to disclose relevant information about children before adoption. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council failed to disclose relevant information to her before her adoption of two siblings, and failed to inform her when its plans for a third sibling changed.

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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. Mrs X and her husband adopted two siblings in 2015. She says that, within the next three years, it came to light that the Council had failed to disclose significant information before the adoption. Specifically, she says information which indicated the possibility that the children would suffer from a medical condition was not disclosed.
6. Mrs X says the children were subsequently diagnosed with the condition, which will have lifelong implications for them and for the family. She says the Council’s failure to disclose the information before the adoption denied her and her husband the opportunity to make informed choices.
7. Mrs X further complains that the Council failed to inform her when it decided not to place a third sibling with her family, after approaching them with a view to adoption.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone has known about the matter for more than 12 months before coming to the Ombudsman.
9. The evidence Mrs X has provided shows that she has known about the matters for at least four years. Her complaint is therefore late. I can see no good reason why she did not come to us earlier. That is particularly the case as she has pursued other complaints with us in the intervening period. We will not consider the complaint now.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman