Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council delaying in informing him of a potential safeguarding risk. There is not enough significant injustice to warrant our investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to tell him about safeguarding concerns.

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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/care provider 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:
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X says that over two years ago, the Council looked into a report that a child in his extended family had been harmed by an adult member of his family. Neither the Council, nor the Police, took any further action. He understands the report was not substantiated.
8. Mr X says he was not told about this at the time but a little while after. He was upset because he believes it put his child at risk as they continued to have contact with the adult alleged perpetrator. He says he was told to be careful about contact afterwards. He says the whole episode caused him to end his foster carer application.
9. The Council has refused to investigate Mr X’s complaint. It says the events are now too old.

Analysis

10. Mr X says he did not complain before now as he did not know there was a 12 month time limit. He says he waited until other family matters settled down before complaining. He says it has caused him great upset.
11. We will not usually investigate a complaint about events known to a complainant for more than 12 months without good reasons. Here, even if Mr X had good reasons we would not do so because the injustice caused to Mr X by the alleged fault, is him not knowing for a while of an alleged risk, which was not upheld. This is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the injustice caused to Mr X is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman