Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide education to her child between December 2023 to July 2024 because it is late. We will not investigate delays in the Council’s complaint handling because it does not meet the tests in our assessment code.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council:
1. failed to provide alternative education for her child, Y, when they were permanently excluded from their school in December 2023;
2. failed to deliver the content of her child’s EHC Plan between December 2023 and July 2024; and
3. delayed responding to her complaints.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her frustration and distress.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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. Ms X complained to the Council in February 2024. The Council did not respond to Ms X until 12 months later in February 2025. Ms X escalated her complaint, and the Council sent its final response in April 2025.
8. Ms X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in August 2025. The matters Ms X complained about happened more than 12 months before she brought her complaint to the Ombudsman. The complaint is therefore late.
9. The law says we cannot investigate matters older than 12 months unless we decide there are good reasons. While the Council’s response to Ms X was delayed in 2024, it was open to Ms X to approach the Ombudsman at any time in 2024 when she did not receive a response from the Council.
10. Ms X also did not approach the Ombudsman immediately following the Council’s final response. A further four months passed.
11. Consequently, I have seen no good reasons Ms X could not have approached the Ombudsman sooner, and so we will not investigate.
12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s delayed complaint response because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaint handling where we do not investigate the substantive issue.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling because it does not meet the tests in our assessment code.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman