Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s involvement with a family he worked with as an interpreter. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late, and Mr X does not have permission to act on behalf of the family at the heart of his complaint. There is also no evidence of personal injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with a family he worked with as an interpreter.

Back to top

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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.

Back to top

What I found

7. In 2018, Mr X worked with a family as an interpreter. The Council’s Children’s Services team were involved with the family. Mr X is unhappy with how the Council treated the family. The Council has refused to accept a complaint from Mr X, because it says he does not have the family’s permission to complain on their behalf. There have also been court proceedings involving the family. Mr X is unhappy the Council considered him as a ‘suspect abuser’. The Council has said that it has a duty to make enquiries “where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is likely to suffer significant harm”. It has said it will not respond to further correspondence from Mr X about his concerns.
8. The events at the heart of Mr X’s complaint took place in June 2018. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason Mr X could not have complained earlier, and so the exception at paragraph 2 applies to his complaint. In reaching this decision I have taken into account the points I make below.
9. In deciding whether to investigate a complaint we consider what injustice the alleged fault has caused. Any injustice from the events Mr X complains about are to the family he worked with – not Mr X himself. As the Council has explained to Mr X, he does not have the family’s permission to complain on their behalf. Mr X says the Council considering him a ‘suspect’ had an impact on him. But I have not seen any evidence of significant personal injustice to Mr X. The Ombudsman will not therefore exercise its discretion to investigate Mr X’s complaint.
10. I understand Mr X is concerned the Council has said it will not respond to further correspondence from him. But the Council has made its position clear and it does only have limited resources. I do not think there is enough evidence of fault in this decision to warrant our involvement.
11. The evidence I have seen also suggests there have been court proceedings involving the family Mr X worked with. The Ombudsman has no powers to consider matters which have been discussed in court.

Back to top

Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late, and Mr X does not have permission to act for the family at the heart of his complaint. There is also no evidence of personal injustice to Mr X and we cannot investigate matters which have been discussed in court.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman