Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that she has suffered six years of abuse because of the Council’s actions. This is because he cannot investigate personnel matters or decisions made a court in relation to Ms B’s children. The Ombudsman will not exercise discretion to investigate Ms B’s late complaint about the Council’s failure to investigate safeguarding concerns she raised in 2015. This is because Ms B could have come to the Ombudsman before now and there is no good reason for him to exercise his discretion to investigate these matters now.

The complaint

1. Ms B says she reported abuse in a care home in 2015 which the Council did not investigate properly and has subsequently suffered abuse by the Council because of its involvement with her children and court action.

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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)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information and documentation Ms B provided. I sent Ms B a copy of my draft decision and discussed her comments on it with her.

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What I found

6. Ms B says she contacted the Council in 2015 regarding concerns of abuse she had witnessed involving residents in a care home. Ms B says the Council did not properly investigate these concerns.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate these matters now. Ms B could have come to the Ombudsman in 2015 if she was concerned the Council were not investigating safeguarding concerns she raised at the time. There is no good reason to disapply the law to investigate now.
8. Ms B says she has suffered six years of abuse because of the Council and has lost her children because of the Council’s actions.
9. The courts decide where children should live. If Ms B is concerned the courts did not have all the information it needed to make an informed decision she can ask it to consider her concerns. These are not matters the Ombudsman can investigate.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because he cannot investigate personnel or court matters and there is no good reason for him to investigate Ms B’s late complaint about the safeguarding matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman