The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to properly safeguard Miss X. This is because the complaint is about events that took place more than 12 months ago; there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate matters that took place this long ago.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to properly safeguard her when she was younger.
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 Miss X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X made several complaints about the Council’s failure to properly safeguard her when it was involved with her and her family.
The Council told Miss X it could not investigate as the matters complained about took place many years ago and therefore the complaint was late.
The Ombudsman will not usually exercise discretion to investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so. The events complained about took place so long ago it is unlikely an investigation would result in a sound or meaningful decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint is about events that took place more than 12 months ago; there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate matters that took place this long ago.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman