Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s child protection actions. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate these matters now. It is also likely that at least some of the complaint concerns matters that were or could reasonably have been mentioned during court proceedings. We will not investigate those matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X said child protection action taken by the Council led to delays in medical treatment for one of his children that caused the child’s death, and to the wrongful removal of another child. He said the Council had wrongly refused a child death review.

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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)
4. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
5. 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, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. I note Mr X has been bereaved of a child and that his complaint is very serious. However, that does not allow us to investigate his complaint, for two principal reasons.
9. First, the complaint is late, in that the matters he complains of happened considerably more than 12 months ago. The Council declined to take his complaint any further and provided him with our contact details significantly more than 12 months ago. We may exercise discretion to accept a late complaint where a person could not have approached us sooner, and I do not dismiss lightly the effect of grief on a bereaved parent. However, Mr X had been able to complain to the Council, which had provided him with our contact details. He could therefore have contacted us much sooner.
10. Second, the complaint correspondence between Mr X and the Council contains references to court proceedings, as one might expect. He stated the Council removed one of his children, and that would have required a court order to confirm it. Therefore, even if the issue of time were not present here, it is likely that the Council’s actions before the court proceedings could or have been mentioned in court.
11. While it is not a key point in my decision, I also confirm that we lack the power to recommend the Council carries out a review of a child’s death, so we could not recommend what Mr X is seeking.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:

• The complaint is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now; and
• Even if it were not late, we will not investigate matters that were or could reasonably have been mentioned during court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman