Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to investigate Miss X’s concerns, about how it dealt with her as a Looked after Child. The complaint relates to matters which happened over 12 months ago, and it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s decision, not to consider it. Nor will we consider it either, because it is a late complaint and I have not seen any good reasons why a complaint could not have been made to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X said the Council was at fault, when in 2006, it removed her from her mother’s care, without a proper investigation. Miss X said she was severely affected by this. Miss X wants the Council to be held accountable.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I have read the correspondence Miss X sent to us and understand this will have been a challenging and difficult experience for her to complain to us.
6. The children’s statutory complaint procedure allows the Council to decline to take a complaint about matters which have occurred more than 12 months before a complaint was raised with it. It can do so, provided it explains its reasons why it has decided this, and does so on a case-by-case basis. The Council wrote to Miss X, explained its reasons in her case and therefore it is unlikely we would find fault if we were to investigate its decision.
7. I have considered whether there are good reasons for us to exercise discretion to consider Miss X's complaint. The law, explained in paragraph three, says we should not investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons why a complaint could not have been made sooner. I have not seen any evidence of good reasons in Miss X’s case, and so will not investigate.  

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s decision to decline her complaint. And we will not consider it either because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman