Wakefield City Council (22 015 642)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Mar 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about letterbox contact. This is because the complaint is late and the arrangements complained about were made in court. The matter is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, Miss X, complained about the letterbox contact arrangements for her grandson (Y) who she cares for. Miss X is unhappy the arrangements do not allow for Y to receive photographs as part of his letterbox contact.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- 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)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has said it will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the issue she complained about dates back more than 12 months. It has also explained the letterbox contact was decided in court. The Council said that if Miss X wants to challenge the arrangements, she should therefore take her own legal advice.
- We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint. The reasons for this are the same as those put forward by the Council. The letterbox arrangements were put in place more than 12 months ago. Miss X’s complaint is therefore late and I see no reason she could not have complained to us earlier.
- But more importantly, the letterbox arrangements were decided in court. We have no powers to consider decisions taken in court or to amend the arrangements. If Miss X thinks the Council is not complying with the Court’s orders or wants the arrangements changing, she will need to apply to the Court.
- If Miss X has any concerns separate to the above, they will need to be put to the relevant council.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late. We also have no powers to question decisions taken in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman