Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to Mr X’s concerns about historical abuse. That is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about how the Council responded to his concerns of historical child abuse. He said the Council had failed to meet with him and discuss the matter despite saying it would. He said the Council was failing in its duty of care.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council has dealt with his concerns about historic child abuse. The Council said it responded to this complaint in 2015. Therefore, this is a late complaint and we should not investigate. It was reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner if he was unhappy with how the Council dealt with the matter.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman