Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council has failed to provide her daughter with suitable education over the last nine years. Part of the complaint is late. The Council upheld her complaint that it had failed to provide suitable education in the last year and offered her a remedy for this. Since our involvement, the Council has increased its remedy offer to Ms X. The remedy offered is now in line with our remedies guidance. It is unlikely an investigation would achieve anything more or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has failed to provide her daughter with suitable education for the last nine years. She says her daughter has missed out on education, suffered trauma and the matter has caused Ms X and her family distress. She also says the Council has refused to consider her complaint about its actions prior to the last 12 months. She wants the Council to investigate her all her complaint and provide a financial remedy for all her daughter’s lost education and the distress caused.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

7. The Council’s complaints policy states it expects a person to complain within 12 months of the matter complained about. The Council’s decision that it will not investigate events prior to the last 12 months appears in line with this policy. We will not investigate this as it is unlikely we would find fault with this decision.
8. We cannot investigate where a person takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a Council has done, unless we decide there are good reasons. Ms X has made complaints to the Council in previous years but did not bring her complaints to us. This was Ms X’s choice to make, but I do not consider this good reason for us to investigate now. We will not investigate the Council’s actions prior to 2023.
9. In its complaint response, the Council accepted it had not provided Ms X’s daughter with suitable education in the last 12 months. It apologised for this and offered a financial remedy for the lost provision. It said going forward, it had recently secured some tuition for her daughter and was arranging an annual review to discuss her needs going forward.
10. Since our involvement, the Council has increased its remedy offer to Ms X.
11. The Council’s revised remedy offer is in line with our guidance on remedies. It is unlikely an investigation would be able to achieve anything more than the Council’s offer. Because of this, we will not investigate.
12. The Council should now make its revised remedy offer directly to Ms X.

Back to top

Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late and further investigation would be unlikely to achieve anything more or lead to a different outcome.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman