Wiltshire Council (22 000 939)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 03 May 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about what the Council may have not told Mr X when a person and her child moved into his home in 2016. Mr X was able to complain about it in 2016 and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate the complaint now.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council failed to tell him about the nature of a person who moved in with him in 2016.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The information Mr X sent us shows he was aware of the matter he complains of in 2016 and raised the matter at the time.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman