The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his concerns about an investigation into bullying at his son’s school. This is because the complaint is made late to us.
The complaint
Mr X complains a teacher tampered with evidence during an investigation into bullying at his son’s school.
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
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X made a complaint about his son’s bullying to a school in 2018. He subsequently asked the Council to investigate his concern that a teacher tampered with evidence during the school’s investigation.
The Council’s Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) asked the school to investigate Mr X’s concerns in 2021 and the school provided a response. The Council investigated Mr X’s concerns in 2023 and again in 2024.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint as his concerns are about issues that happened more than 12 months ago, and I see no good reason why he could not have complained to us sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late and there is no good reason to consider it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman