The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to safeguard the complainant when she was a child. This is because the issues happened too long ago and the complainant could have complained sooner.
The complaint
Miss X complains that the Councils children’s services failed to safeguard her when it was involved with her family. Miss X says this has impacted her mental health.
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 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
I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to safeguard her from abuse. This is because the events Miss X complains about happened around 20 years ago. I see no good reason why Miss X could not have complained about these matters sooner, particularly as Miss X has known about out service since at least late 2022 when she raised a complaint about another matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the issues raised happened too long ago and she could have complained sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman