The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the content of an agreement of expectations because there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman. We will not investigate the breakdown of that agreement because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to pursue the matter in court.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about what the Council wrote about her in an agreement of expectations regarding contact with her granddaughter. She complained further about a recent incident with her granddaughter’s father, which had led to the breakdown of the agreement.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X had a copy of the agreement of expectations to which her complaint relates by early February 2023 at the latest. She complained to the Council about her dissatisfaction with the contents of the agreement in late March 2024.
The Council declined to investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she had made it more than 12 months after she had received a copy of the agreement of expectations.
If Mrs X was unhappy with the wording of the agreement of expectations it would have been reasonable for her to pursue that with the Council at the time she became aware of it. Instead, she let the matter lie.
The law says people should bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. The 12-month timescale in this case would have run until February 2024. The complaint is therefore late and there is not a good reason for us to investigate it.
The Council advised Mrs X that, if the agreement of expectations (which she had, in any case, refused to sign) broke down, she would need to seek legal advice regarding contact arrangements with her granddaughter. The agreement was created during private law proceedings and therefore we will not investigate the circumstances in which it has broken down.
Final decision
We will not investigate this late complaint about the content of an agreement of expectations because there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman. We will not investigate the breakdown of that agreement because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to pursue the matter in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman