The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to place Miss B’s brother in a respite care home placement.
Miss B is complaining too late and there is no good reason to investigate now.
The complaint
Miss B complains about the Council’s decision to remove her late brother from her home and place him in a respite care home placement in 2017 because it had concerns about his care needs being met. Miss B says this caused both her and her brother avoidable distress and meant her brother received poor care in the home which put him at risk and led to his death in 2018. Miss B wants to know why the Council removed her brother from her home and she wants individual Council staff to be reprimanded.
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 or has not done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council received complaints from Miss B in December 2017, January 2018 and February 2018 about the events surrounding the removal of her brother from his home and his placement in respite care. In April 2018, the Council told Miss B she could complain to the Ombudsman if she remained unhappy with its response. Miss B did not complain to the Ombudsman until March 2025. The complaint is late.
We will not investigate this complaint because it is made too late. Miss B could have complained to us sooner and there is no good reason to investigate now.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is made too late and there is no good reason to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman