Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about children services’ actions. There are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, says the Council’s children services team failed to support and help her.

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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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X which includes the Council’s reply to her.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X says that in August 2021 Y, for whom she is their mother, left her care and began living with an extended family member. She says this happened without Ms X’s consent. She believes the family then told Y untruths about Ms X and turned Y against her. She asked the Council’s children services team for support.
7. The Council considered Ms X’s requests but decided it was not within their powers to remove Y from the family’s care. Instead, it said Ms X would have to apply to Court. It closed the case in November 2021.
8. Ms X complained to the Council in January 2023. The Council refused to investigate the complaint. It said the events were too old.

Analysis

9. We cannot investigate events known to Ms X for more than 12 months unless there are good reasons to do so. Here Ms X has provided no reasons it has taken her over a year to complain from when the case was closed.
10. Even if Ms X provided reasons for delaying in complaining we still would not investigate her complaint. This is because we cannot achieve the result she wants, which is the return of Y to her care. Only those with parental responsibility or a Court can decide where a child lives.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there are no good reasons why the late complaint rule should not apply.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman