Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about mental capacity assessments completed in late 2022 because the complaint is late. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council failed to help him more recently because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council carried out mental capacity assessments fraudulently. He said the Council refused to help him when he said he was upset and did not listen to his doctor. He said the Council’s failings caused him distress and led to him harming himself.

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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. Mr X was unhappy with mental capacity assessments the Council completed in late 2022. He said it failed to listen to his doctor and the assessments were done fraudulently.
8. In its complaint response, the Council explained the assessments were carried out in relation to his capacity to make decisions in two specific areas at a specific time. It considered Mr X’s views and those of his social worker and other relevant professionals. It carried out the assessments in line with the law.
9. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Mr X first complained to us in March 2024 and the assessments were completed in late 2022. I have seen no evidence to suggest Mr X could not have complained to us sooner, so I will not exercise discretion to investigate the complaint now. In any case, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
10. In his complaint to the Council in 2024, Mr X also complained the Council had not given him support, were not listening to him and a manager had ended a call with him. In its complaint response, the Council said:
• it had assessed his needs and arranged a support package for him, which it would review to see how it was going;
• his doctor had told it Mr X did not have a learning disability so it was not providing support with that;
• the manager was not able to take his calls on a specific day because they were in an online meeting, so they declined to take them. In any case, Mr X had already spoken to his social worker and there was no reason for the manager to speak to him that day.
11. We will not consider this part of the complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
12. In a further communication, in August 2024, the Council outlined some of Mr X’s behaviours, which it said were not acceptable and must stop. It explained what might happen if the behaviours did not stop. The Council is entitled to take steps to manage the behaviour of service users in line with its policy. In any case, Mr X has not made a formal complaint about this, and the law says councils must have the chance to respond to complaints before we get involved, so we will not consider this complaint further.

Back to top

Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of the complaint is late and there are no grounds to investigate now, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in relation to the other parts of his complaint to justify our involvement.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman