Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a lack of financial support from the Council to help look after her nephews. This is because the complaint is late. There is also not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about a lack of financial support from the Council when she began caring for her nephews in 2013 after their mother passed away. The Council says the children were living with Miss X before her sister passed away. The Council says Miss X applied to the court for parental responsibility and a residence order. The Council says because it did not place the children with Miss X there was no duty to provide financial support.

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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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if 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

4. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I gave the complainant the opportunity to comment on a draft decision and considered any comments received.

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My assessment

7. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason why Miss X could not have challenged the Council’s decision in 2013 and so the exception at paragraph 2 applies to her complaint.
8. Even if Miss X’s complaint was not late, we would not investigate. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. I have not seen any evidence the Council had a duty to accommodate Miss X’s nephews or was involved in placing them in Miss X’s care. We would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s decision.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late. There is also not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman