Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s management of child protection action. The complaint is late and there are no grounds to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council was at fault in the management of child protection action relating to her children

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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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant now has had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered her comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. Miss B says the Council’s officers were at fault in the management of child protection action. She says their actions amounted to abuse of her and her children. Although she no longer lives in the Council’s area, she says a vulnerable child marker placed on her medical records in 2015 has caused difficulties for her in obtaining medical services and education for her children.
7. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to come to us about something a Council has done. The evidence shows the Council’s involvement was between 2015 and 2018. The complaint is therefore late.
8. Miss B says she has been deliberately kept busy with other complaints, and that the Council has ignored her attempts to pursue the matter. She says another agency has agreed to pursue her complaint about events which took place during the same period. These matters do not provide grounds for us to consider the complaint, and we will not do so.
9. The Ombudsman has no power to consider anything to do with medical records, including their content and impact. If Miss B believes her records contain false information, she may wish to pursue her right to rectification under data protection law. There is no role for the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there are no grounds to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman