London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (25 002 197)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about allegations of abuse towards his son. This is because the matters could reasonably be mentioned in court proceedings, and the complaint has been made late.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about alleged abuse towards his son and says the Council has failed to take any action.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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))
- 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 provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says that his son was abused between 2022 and 2023 and that the Council failed to protect him.
- The matter is currently subject to court proceedings, and the court has asked the Council to provide information about its investigation.
- I will not investigate this matter further, as the matters could reasonably be raised as part of ongoing court proceedings.
- I would also have expected Mr X to bring his complaint to us sooner, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate these matters now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The matters could be raised in court proceedings, and the complaint is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman