Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council’s investigation into child protection concerns. There is not a good reason for the delay in Miss X bringing the matter to the Ombudsman. We could not achieve a meaningful outcome in any event.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s response to safeguarding concerns relating to her grandson’s respite placement. She said the matter has caused the family trauma. She wanted the Council to hold individuals accountable for their actions and provide answers.

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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 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 could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. Miss X’s complaint relates to incidents that occurred in a children’s respite accommodation in 2023. She complained to the Council and received responses in July and September 2023. Those complaint responses signposted her to the Ombudsman. The Council had provided the outcomes of its investigations and included some information about the steps that it had taken in response to the incidents.
7. The Council also issued a further response in June 2024 including further details of actions taken and actions it would take. The director of children’s services issued a written apology to Miss X.
8. While there were some matters outstanding, for example a figure had not yet been discussed in the way of financial remedy for the distress Miss X experienced, it was reasonable for her to complain to us by mid-2024. She could have contacted us as early as September 2023. Miss X brought this complaint to us in May 2025, nearly a further year after the Council’s last response letter. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.
9. However, it is unlikely that investigation by us could achieve anything meaningful even if we did exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint. We cannot achieve the outcomes Miss X seeks. We cannot make recommendations relating to individual officers or that relate to employment matters. We could not provide further answers or add value to the investigations the Council has already carried out. It has set out several actions resulting from the incidents, and it is unlikely investigation by us would achieve a different outcome.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman, and we could not achieve a meaningful outcome in any event.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman