Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council left a foster child’s property in the complainants home for 18 months and that the Council unfairly deducted costs for school transport from her fostering allowance. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why she could not have complained sooner.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs C, complains that the Council took 18 months to clear a foster child’s property from her home and that it unfairly deducted costs for school transport from her fostering allowance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 Mrs C’s complaint and the Council’s response. I sent a draft version of this decision to Mrs C and invited her comments.

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What I found

5. Mrs C was a foster carer for a child who had her own room in Mrs C’s property. In June 2018, the child left Mrs C’s home suddenly, leaving her property behind.
6. Mrs C says she told social workers that the foster child’s property had not been collected but nothing happened. In February, Mrs C reported the issue to a manager and the property was collected less than a week after.
7. In September 2020, Mrs C complained. She said the Council took too long to remove the property, and that it should compensate her for not being able to use the room it was stored in.
8. Mrs C also complained that the Council had unfairly made deductions from her fostering allowance for school transport that the Council had provided for a nine-year period up to 2018.

Assessment

9. I will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint that the Council unfairly made deductions from her fostering allowance. This is because this happened too long ago, and I see no reason why she could not have complained to the Council or the Ombudsman sooner.
10. I will also not investigate Mrs C’s complaint about a foster child’s property being left in her home too long. Mrs C became aware that the property remained in her property after she left in June 2018. I see no reason why she could not have complained before September 2020, more than two years after the child left and more than seven months after the Council had resolved the issue.

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Final decision

11. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why she could not have complained sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman