Summary: We will not investigate Mr F’s complaint about a child protection investigation and a brief period of accommodation the Council arranged for his son in May 2020 because it is late.

The complaint

1. Mr F complains about a child protection investigation and brief period of accommodation the Council arranged for his son in May 2020.
2. He says the threshold for a child protection investigation was not met, and the Council obtained ‘consent’ to accommodate his son from somebody who did not have parental responsibility for him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 Mr F.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr F’s complaint about the child protection investigation and brief period of accommodation the Council arranged for his son in May 2020 is late.
7. The law says we cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons.
8. There are no good reasons to accept Mr F’s complaint now. He could have made the complaint much sooner.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr F’s complaint because it is too late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman