Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council has been at fault in the way it has treated her and her family. This is because the complaint is late, and it is unlikely investigation would add anything significant to the responses the Council has already made.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council has been at fault in the way it has treated her and her family. She complains that it has accused her of fabricating illness and failed to provide appropriate support.

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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 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 could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Miss B has said in support of her complaint and the complaint correspondence provided by the Council. I have offered Miss B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

5. Miss B and her family have been known to Children’s Services for at least 10 years. Miss B says that, throughout the period, the Council has failed to support them. She says it has accused her many times of fabricating illness, which has had a detrimental impact on her mental health and her sons’ wellbeing.
6. In response to Miss B’s complaint, the Council states it has had no open cases relating to the children since 2019. It also clarifies that it does not hold the view that Miss B has fabricated illness. It offers to meet with Miss B to discuss and clarify any outstanding matters. I understand that Miss B has declined this invitation.
7. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. This applies to those aspects of the complaint which relate to what happened before 2020. We will not investigate them now.
8. The Council has made an offer to discuss any outstanding matters with Miss B. The fact that Miss B has declined the offer is a matter for her. But it is a reasonable offer in the circumstances and investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything more.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late, and it is unlikely we would add anything to the responses the Council has already made.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman