The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about occupational therapy input during the Disabled Facilities Grant application process in 2022. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate now.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the actions of an occupational therapist and poor communication during a Disabled Facilities Grant application in 2022.
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
Mr X complained to the Council in 2022 about this matter. The Council responded to his complaint, providing a final complaint response in September 2022. The response signposted him to our service, if he remained dissatisfied.
Mr X brought the complaint to us in June 2025. He provided several reasons why he had not brought his complaint to us sooner. He asked us to investigate the complaint.
I have considered the information Mr X provided. I have seen no good reason why Mr X could not have approached us sooner and so will not exercise our discretion to investigate this complaint. Although Mr X states he did try to complain at the time but had difficulty accessing our service, I have seen no evidence of this. In any case, I do not consider this would account for the length of the delay. The complaint is late and I have seen no good reason to exercise our discretion to consider the complaint now.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman