Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the involvement of the Council’s social services with the complainant and her children. This is because part of the complaint is made late, as it relates to matters known to the complainant more than 12 months previously, and there is no evidence of fault by the Council in the other issues raised.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs O, says that the Council:
• Unreasonably put her child on a child protection plan, which she believes was contrary to a court order;
• Encroached on her human rights through the continued involvement of its social services in her life, despite the fact that her son lives with his father;
• Has refused to carry out a pre-birth assessment for her unborn child, which she believes would have supported her application for a two bedroom property;
• Has refused to write a letter of support for her application for a two bedroom property in Sheffield.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Mrs O and by the Council. I have also sent her a draft decision for her comments.

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What I found

6. Mrs O has a son, S, who lives with his father following a court decision. In 2018 The Council initiated child protection procedures, and put S onto a child protection plan. It also continued to advise Mrs O regarding her care for S.
7. Mrs O complained that the decision put S onto a child protection plan was contrary to the court order regarding his care. She also complained about the on-going intrusion into her life, which she regarded as encroaching on her human rights, given the relatively low level of her contact with S.
8. The Council responded to the complaint at stage one of its complaints process in August 2018. It offered Mrs O the opportunity to request a stage two escalation, but despite some further discussions, Mrs S did not request a stage two until August 2019. The Council refused, as it said the complaint was now late.
9. Mrs S has brought the complaint to the Ombudsman, but we will not investigate it, as it is made late. The Ombudsman cannot investigate matters known to the complainant more than 12 months previously unless there is good reason to do so. I have seen no good reason to exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion in this case.
10. Mrs S further complains that the council has refused to carry out a pre-birth social care assessment for her unborn second child. She believes the assessment would support her application for a two bedroom property.
11. The Council says that she lives in Rotherham, so although she accesses pregnancy care in Sheffield, it is Rotherham’s responsibility to carry out any social services assessments, including the pre-birth assessment.
12. Finally, Miss O says that the council has refused to write a letter supporting her need for a two be property once her baby is born.
13. However, the Council explains that it could not say that she has a need for a two bedroom property until the outcome of private court proceedings regarding future contact with S is known. The Council would need to know whether a court order for overnight stays for S is issued. It is prepared to reconsider her request after the court proceedings are finished.
14. There is no evidence of the fault in the Council’s actions on these issues.

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Final decision

15. Subject to any comments Mrs O might make, my view is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because one of the complaints is made late, and there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s handling of the other matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman