Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms J’s complaint about how in 2011 the Council did not properly conclude the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. This is because there is no compelling reason to disapply the rule on late complaints.

The complaint

1. Ms J complains that in 2011 the Council did not properly conclude the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services, so she lost the opportunity for redress.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information Ms J provided with her complaint, and information provided by the Council when we checked it knew about the complaint. I gave Ms J, through her solicitor, the opportunity to comment on my draft decision, and took account of her comments before making the final decision.

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What I found

4. Ms J complained to the Council in 2011, with the support of an advocate. Her complaint fell within the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. This procedure has three clear stages. The complaint completed stage 2, but Ms J says the Council then failed to respond to her request for a stage 3 panel.
5. Ms J has provided evidence that she contacted the Council about this, through her MP, in 2016. The Council replied saying Ms J’s complaint had concluded in 2011.
6. Ms J has provided no evidence to explain why she did not pursue this matter between 2011 and 2016, or when she received the Council’s reply in 2016. In the absence of a compelling reason for her delay, we cannot investigate her substantive complaint about the Council’s complaint-handling in 2011.
7. In 2019 Ms J, through her solicitors, complained to the Council again, that it had not properly responded to her 2011 complaint. Ms J’s solicitors say the Council has not responded to this latest complaint.
8. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. So we will not investigate the Council’s complaint-handling of 2019.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because there is no compelling reason to disapply the rule on late complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman