Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to act on concerns she raised about her children. Ms X has known about the complaint for more than 12 months and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to accept the complaint now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council failed to act on the concerns she raised with it about various issues surrounding her children.
2. Ms X says these concerns relate to a period before court proceedings which finished in January 2018.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Ms X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I have written to Ms X with my draft decision and given her an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

5. The Council placed Ms X’s children in care in 2017.
6. In January 2018 court proceedings finished, placing Ms X’s children in the care of their father, Mr X.
7. In May 2018, Ms X raised a complaint with the Council over the social worker assigned to her children and the Council’s foster care team and their actions since the start of 2017.
8. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in June 2018 and October 2018. In November 2018, the Council advised it would not respond further due to concurrent court proceedings. The Council directed Ms X to the Ombudsman.
9. Ms X contacted the Council in December 2019. The Council responded in January 2020 and directed Ms X to the Ombudsman again.
10. We cannot investigate a complaint which is about events known to Ms X for more than 12 months without good reason.
11. The main issues outlined in Ms X’s complaint are from 2017.
12. Ms X was aware of the matter well over 12 months ago. The Council directed Ms X to our service in November 2018. Ms X could reasonably be expected to have brought her complaint to us sooner.
13. Ms X has provided no good reasons why she did not complain to us sooner.

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Final decision

14. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to act on concerns she raised about her children. Ms X has known about the complaint for more than 12 months and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to accept the complaint now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman