Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about a failure to provide services and support for her child and its refusal to consider her complaint about the matter. Part of the complaint is late, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s more recent complaints handling and an investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to provide support for her child for several years and the failures are ongoing. She says it has refused to consider her complaint about the matter. She says her child has missed out on support and services as a result and the matter has caused her distress.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The procedure states that Councils can refuse to accept complaints made more than one year after the grounds for the complaint arose.
8. In September 2025, Ms X complained to the Council about the outcome of an assessment in May 2024, which decided her child was not eligible for support from the Council’s Children with Disabilities Team.
9. The Council decided it would not accept her complaint, as it was over 12 months since the assessment took place.
10. Ms X disputed that her complaint was late. She said she wanted to complain about the overall service, as there was an ongoing failure to provide appropriate services and support since the assessment, which meant her child was continuing to miss out on support and which was causing her distress.
11. The Council did not change its position. It said its Children with Disabilities Team was not involved with her child. It said her initial contact indicated she was unhappy with the outcome of the May 2024 assessment and its view remained that a complaint about this was late. It said if she wanted to complain about a different service, the Council would consider this, if she provided further details.
12. We will not investigate the Council’s handling of her complaint. The Council decided her child was not eligible for support in May 2024. Any claimed injustice related to a lack of support since then relates directly to this decision, made over 12 months prior to her complaint to the Council. The Council’s decision that the complaint is late appears in line with the statutory complaints procedure. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making to warrant an investigation.
13. We also cannot investigate this complaint. Ms X brought her complaint to us in September 2025, over 12 months since the assessment took place. If she was unhappy with the outcome at the time or about any actions or decisions before May 2024, I can see no good reason why she could not have approached us sooner.
14. Although Ms X claims there is an ongoing injustice which warrants investigation, I do not accept this is the case. Any claimed injustice resulting from a lack of support relates directly to her disagreement with the May 2024 decision. Further investigation would be unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
15. The Council has advised Ms X to provide further information if she wishes to complain about another Council service that her child currently receives. It is open to Ms X to raise a separate complaint to the Council about other services, if she is dissatisfied with the service provided.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s handling of her recent complaint and an investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman