Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his claim the Council failed to provide leaving care support. The events are more than six years old and there are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about children services support to him as a child leaving 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council failed to provide the support and service the Council had a duty to provide to him as a child leaving care. He says this left him deeply traumatised, anxious, caused severe PTSD and depression. He says he often feels lost, hopeless, and emotionally drained. He says he has constant instability, homelessness, and lack of support. He says this has destroyed his trust in people and left him feeling completely alone. He says he is exhausted from having to fight for the care and understanding that he believes should have been given to him years ago.
6. Mr X complained to the Council in June 2025. In reply to his complaint the Council has set out what it believes happened. This includes it accepts it owed some leaving care duties to Mr X until he reached 25 in 2019. From aged 15 onwards Mr X has spent periods of time in custody.
7. We will not dis-apply the requirements of the 12 month rule in historic cases unless we have clear reasons for doing so. I am not satisfied we have as:
• I am not confident there is a realistic prospect of reaching a sound, fair, and meaningful decision.  In older cases we are less likely to be able to gather sufficient evidence to reach a sound judgement. Even if some evidence is available, we would need to be particularly careful to ensure it is reliable, and provides a full picture. In this case the Council’s duties will have varied due to Mr X’s prison sentences and other bodies, such as the probation service, would also have owed him duties.
• I am not satisfied that Mr X could not reasonably be expected to have complained sooner.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there are no good reasons why the late complaint rule should not apply.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman