Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an alledged failure by the Council to take action in response to the complainant’s concerns about her children being a risk of harm. This is because the issues raised relate to matters which occurred nearly three years ago. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons why she should exercise discretion and investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Mrs W) complains the Council failed to take appropriate action to safeguard her children who were vulnerable and at risk of harm. She says this has caused her significant distress. As a desired outcome, Mrs W wants a full and transparent investigation into the issues raised.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The provision I outline at paragraph four (above) inserts a time limit for a member of the public to bring their complaint to the attention of the Ombudsman. Its intention is two-fold: to provide us with the best opportunity of arriving at a robust, evidence-based decision on complaints about recent events and to ensure fairness by enabling us to decline an investigation into historic matters, which could and should have formed the basis of a complaint far sooner.
5. The concerns were raised by Mrs W relate to events between 2021 and 2022. She made a complaint to the Council in July 2023 which the Council responded to the following month. It said it found no evidence to support the concerns being raised. Further, the complaint response signposted Mrs W to the Ombudsman should she remained dissatisfied. Mrs W brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in October 2024, over a year later. The complaint is therefore late. I considered whether there are good reasons why I should exercise my discretion and investigate notwithstanding the passage of time. However, Mrs W knew about our service and I see no good reason to exercise my discretion to look at issues which happened nearly three years ago. The passage of time since the problems began means investigating would also have practical challenges, such as obtaining evidence, assessing harm and applying current legislation and professional standards to historical events.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the restriction I outline at paragraph two (above) applies.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman