Summary: We will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint, concerning financial support she received whilst acting as her grandson’s formal carer. This is because the matters complained of are outside the timescales specified in the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Mrs C could reasonably have complained earlier.

The complaint

1. Mrs C complains she did not receive appropriate financial support from the Council between 2002 and 2010, whilst acting as her grandson’s formal carer. She says that, in 2014, the Council backdated its payments to 2010, increasing the amount she received from this time, but not back beyond this. The Council continued to provide assistance up until Mrs C’s grandson turned sixteen years old, but Mrs C would like the Council to consider making further payments for the period in question.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. 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

3. I considered information provided by Mrs C.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Ombudsman’s Assessment Code states that we would normally expect a complaint to be made to us within one year of somebody becoming aware of the events complained of. Mrs C’s complaint concerns an alleged lack of action by the Council over a decade ago, placing it outside the timescale set out in the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. Whilst a delay in approaching the Ombudsman may be considered reasonable in some cases, the information provided by Mrs C shows that, in 2014, the Council explained that it would backdate any increase in payments to 2010 only, in line with an Ombudsman ruling in 2013 on a similar complaint that required it to do so. It would have been reasonable for Mrs C to complain to the Council at the time if she was unhappy with its decision, and to then approach the Ombudsman if she remained dissatisfied with the outcome of her complaint.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the matters complained of are outside the timescales specified in the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Mrs C could reasonably have complained earlier.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman