Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the coroner’s service failed to inform the complainants of the date of his daughter’s inquest. This is because the complaint is made late and because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the coroner’s service failed to inform him of the date of the inquest into the death of his daughter in 2019.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s daughter sadly died in 2019, and the coroner’s service arranged an inquest to be held in May 2019, but Mr X says he was not informed and as a result he missed the inquest.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because it is made late, and I see no reason why it could not have been raised with the Ombudsman sooner. The Council issued its final response to Mr X’s complaint in December 2019 and told him he could approach the Ombudsman if dissatisfied. However, he did not do so for almost two years.
9. Even if this complaint was not late, I would still not investigate it. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. The Council accept that the coroner’s service should have sent a letter to Mr X after it was unable to contact him by phone. It apologised to Mr X for not doing so and provided him with an audio recording from the inquest and copies of documents considered during the inquest. It also implemented a new process to ensure letters are sent to people when contact is not made by the phone, in order to prevent the same error being made again. The inquest has concluded so I consider the actions that the Council has take to be appropriate, it is therefore difficult to see what any further investigation could achieve for Mr X.

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Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is made late and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman