Summary: We have not investigated Mr B’s complaint about how the Council supported him after he made a disclosure of sexual abuse in 2017. His complaint is late, and, as there are no good reasons why he could not have approached the Ombudsman sooner, we cannot investigate it.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr B, was in local authority care until early 2019. He says he was sexually abused by other young people in a children’s home in 2017. He complains about how the Council protected and supported him after he reported the abuse.
2. Mr B wants the Council and the Police to reinvestigate his allegations, and wants the Council to review the risk to children who currently live in the children’s home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We may investigate matters coming to our attention during an investigation, if we consider that a member of the public who has not complained may have suffered an injustice as a result. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26D and 34E, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from Mr B and the Council. Both parties had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened?

6. In 2015 Mr B moved into a children’s home which provided specialist therapeutic support for young people who had experienced sexual assault.
7. In 2017 Mr B disclosed that he had been sexually abused by three other young people in the home. The Council reported this to the Police, but they decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute the other young people.
8. In 2019, after Mr B had left the home, he complained to the Council about the way it supported him after he made his disclosure in 2017. He said he was worried other children may be at risk at the home because of the Council’s failures.
9. The Council sent its final response to Mr B in November 2019, and said it had no concerns with the children’s home which required further investigation. It referred him to the Ombudsman if he was dissatisfied.
10. Mr B submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman, but then decided to withdraw it because he had ‘moved on with his life’.
11. In September 2021, Mr B found out that one of the people who had abused him had been convicted of child sexual offences. He says this had a significant impact on his mental health.
12. At this point, Mr B complained to the Ombudsman about what happened in 2017.

My findings

13. Although I do not doubt the impact that Mr B’s experiences had, and continue to have, on his health and wellbeing, the Ombudsman must act within the law when deciding what we can and cannot investigate.
14. As Mr B complained to the Council and received a final response in 2019, his complaint to us (in 2021) is late. The law says we cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons.
15. Although I accept that Mr B was making efforts to move on with his life, this was not something which prevented him making a complaint, and therefore there are no good reasons why he could not have complained to us sooner if he had chosen to.
16. Because of this, the law says I cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about what happened in 2017.
17. Although I have the power to investigate things which may have caused an injustice to someone who has not complained – such as another young person in the children’s home – I would need to be satisfied that there may have been fault by the Council. Without fault, there is no injustice.
18. As I have not investigated Mr B’s complaint, I have not identified any fault, so I do not consider there to be a good reason to investigate the risk to other children in the home.

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Final decision

19. I have not investigated Mr B’s complaint about how the Council supported him after he made a disclosure of sexual abuse in 2017. His complaint is late, and, as there are no good reasons why he could not have approached the Ombudsman sooner, I cannot investigate it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman