Kingston Upon Hull City Council (26 007 634)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an assessment completed by the Council in 2012. This is because the complaint is made late and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.
The complaint
- Mr and Mrs X complain about an assessment completed by the Council’s children’s services in 2012. They say the Council had no grounds to carry out the assessment and that it was completed by someone who was not qualified.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- 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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
- We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainants.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because it is made late. They have been aware of the presence of the assessment for several years and I see no good reason why they could not have complained about it sooner.
- In their complaint to the Council, Mr and Mrs X say that the Council is continuing to process personal information in the assessment in breach of data protection regulations. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforces data protection legislation. The ICO can investigate complaints about data protection, so it is reasonable to expect Mr and Mrs X to complain to them about data protection matters.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because it is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman