Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council has been at fault in the management of his son’s care. This is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council has been at fault in the management of his son’s care.

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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 have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. The complainant has had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

7. Mr B’s son has been in the Council’s care since 2018. Mr B complains that the Council has delayed resolving the case. He says the Council has repeatedly changed his son’s social worker and has pursued adoption, despite the care plan specifying long-term foster care.
8. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is late. Late complaints are where someone takes more than twelve months to complain to the Ombudsman about something a council has done. Mr B has provided a complaint response from the Council from July 2020. The matters about which he complained must therefore have taken place before this date, and the complaint is therefore late. There are no grounds for us to consider it now.
9. If Mr B wishes to complain about matters which took place after July 2020, he should do so to the Council in the first instance.
10. Even if the complaint had not been late, it is unlikely we would have pursued it. Mr B’s son’s care has been subject to legal proceedings. The question of whether adoption or foster care is appropriate is not one for the Ombudsman. The Council may pursue the option it decides is most appropriate and the matter will be for the court to decide. Mr B will be entitled to be represented in court. By law, decisions made in court fall outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman