London Borough of Bromley (25 012 999)
Category : Children's care services > Friends and family carers
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about special guardianship order financial support. The complaint is late, and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now.
The complaint
- Miss Y complained the Council did not reimburse her for legal costs she incurred following a discharge application to the court in 2020.
- Miss Y said this caused financial hardship and distress.
- Miss Y wants the Council to reimburse her for the legal costs, and compensate her for the hardship she and her family have endured.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss Y and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss Y said she obtained Special Guardianship Orders (SGO) in 2014 for two members of her extended family.
- In 2020, a discharge application for the SGOs was considered by the court. Miss Y said she incurred significant legal costs contesting the discharge application.
- In 2022, Miss Y approached the Council seeking financial support to pay the legal costs. The Council said it would not reimburse her and signposted her to the Council in the area where she now lived. Miss Y did not formally complain to that Council until 2025.
- Miss Y was aware of the issue in 2020 and made representations to the Council in 2022. We cannot investigate the complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. It was reasonable to expect Miss Y to have complained to us sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because her complaint is late, and there are no good reasons to investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman