Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaints about decisions relating to the management of her uncle’s affairs. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why it could not have been raised with us sooner. There is also insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify further investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X is complaining on behalf of her grandmother, Mrs Y, about decisions made in relation to Mr Z’s care and finances. Mr Z is Mrs Y’s son and Miss X’s uncle. Miss X complains the Council failed to properly involve Mrs Y in decisions about Mr Z’s care and how his financial affairs were managed. Miss X says this has caused Mrs Y distress. Mr Z has passed away since Miss X made her complaint. Miss X is unhappy that Mr Z’s Care Provider will not return documents, such as his birth certificate, to Mrs Y.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr Z had learning difficulties and early onset dementia. He received 24-hour care living in a care home with his wife. In Summer 2020, Mr Z’s care home relinquished appointeeship and the Council arranged for his mother-in-law to take over management of Mr Z’s financial affairs.
7. In October 2024, the care home responded to a complaint from Miss X that it and the Council had not properly involved Mrs Y in decisions about Mr Z’s finances or care. It explained the Council had undertaken a best interests assessment to determine who was best placed to take over financial appointeeship. The care home confirmed Miss X and Mrs Y were not prohibited from visiting Mr Z.
8. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the events they are complaining about. Miss X and Mrs Y have been aware of the arrangements for managing Mr Z’s finances since 2020. Any issues Miss X has about the Council’s handling that occurred more than 12 months ago are too late to bring to us now. I have seen no evidence to suggest Miss X could not have brought her concerns to the Council or us sooner, so I will not exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint. In any case, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman