Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council taking her children in to care. This is because the complaint has been made late and there are insufficient reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the actions of the Council in the period leading up to her children entering care.
2. Miss X says she repeatedly sought help and support from the Council, but the Council failed to respond adequately, resulting in her children being taken in to care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X’s complaint concerns events connected with the Council’s involvement with her children entering care. These events occurred many years before the complaint was brought to the Ombudsman. Miss X did not submit a formal complaint to the Council until August 2026. The Council declined to investigate, explaining there were ‘practical limitations associated with investigating events that occurred a significant time ago’.
8. We also will not investigate. This is because the complaint is caught by the time restriction in our governing legislation and I do not see sufficient reasons for us to investigate now.

9. The Ombudsman normally expects complaints to be brought to us within 12 months of a person becoming aware of the matters they wish to complain about. I have considered Miss X’s explanation that traumatic personal circumstances affected her ability to pursue the complaint sooner. However, the key events complained about were known to her at the time they occurred and relate to historical decisions, actions and professional involvement spanning a significant period in the past.
10. I acknowledge Miss X feels strongly that the Council failed her family. However, I do not consider there are sufficient grounds to set aside our normal time limit.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it has been made late and there are insufficient reasons to investigate now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman