West Sussex County Council (25 022 565)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of its child protection duties in respect of the complainant’s child. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why it could not have been brought to us sooner.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to act when his child was relocated in 2019 and 2020 without his consent or court order. He complains the Council refused to investigate his concerns now because they are too late to consider. Mr X says the Council’s inaction caused prolonged separation from his child as well as distress and anxiety. Mr X would like the Council to investigate his complaint.
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 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The matters complained of happened in 2019 and 2020. Mr X would have been aware of the issues at that time. Mr X did not complain to the Council until October 2025 and to the Ombudsman until January 2026. The Council are not obliged to investigate a complaint that is late and we cannot question the merits of that decision.
- The law states we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. I have seen no good reasons why Mr X could not have brought his concerns to us sooner, so I will not exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman