London Borough of Waltham Forest (21 006 832)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Sep 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to safeguard a child. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why the complainant could not have complained sooner.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Mrs C, complains that the Council failed to safeguard her child after a school reported an incident in 2018. Mrs C says the Council’s actions left her child vulnerable to further abuse.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs C complains about the actions of the Council after safeguarding concerns were raised about her daughter in late 2018. Mrs C approached the Council shortly after to express her dissatisfaction with how it had dealt with matters. In August 2019, Mrs C instructed a solicitor to seek damages from the Council in relation to the incident.
- I will not investigate this complaint because the events happened too long ago. Mrs C could have asked the Ombudsman to intervene when she first became aware of these matters in late-2018, or again when she decided to pursue the matter further in August 2019. Instead, Mrs C decided to pursue the matter via her solicitor and approached the Ombudsman some three years after the incident. I see no reason why she could not have complained to us sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint because the events happened too long ago, and I see no good reason why she could not have complained sooner.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman