The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide free school meals for her child, Y, between 2018 and 2020 when they were too unwell to attend school. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate now.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide free school meals for her child, Y, between 2018 and 2020 when they were too ill to attend school.
Mrs X says the matter impacted her financially and caused her frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s provision of free school meals for her child, Y, between 2018 and 2020. This is because the complaint is late. Mrs X was aware of the matter in 2020. I have seen no good reasons Mrs X could not have brought a complaint to the Ombudsman sooner. Therefore, I will not exercise discretion to investigate the complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason for us to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman