Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s children’s services involvement with her when she was a child between 2008 and 2010. This is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the involvement of the Council’s children’s services with her when she was a child between 2008 and 2010. Ms X said the Council failed to act on safeguarding information and failed to support her.
2. Ms X said the matter has caused her 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 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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My assessment

7. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaints about the Council’s children’s services involvement with her when she was a child between 2008 and 2010. This is because the law says we can only investigate matters within 12 months of a matter being brought to the Ombudsman, unless we decide there are good reasons.
8. Part of the reason for this is because, as time passes, there is a diminishing prospect of reaching a sound, fair and meaningful decision. The matters complained about are between 15 and 17 years old.
9. I have seen no good reasons Ms X could not have brought her complaint to the Ombudsman sooner. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
10. In any case, the Council considered Ms X’s complaints and upheld two elements. It offered Ms X a £1,000 symbolic payment in acknowledgement of the distress and uncertainty caused. Even if we were to investigate, an investigation would be unlikely to achieve any other outcome, and so we would not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman