The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a safeguarding referral in 2014. This is because this happened too long ago, and I see no reason why the complaint could not have been pursued with the Ombudsman sooner.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about how the Council dealt with a safeguarding referral he made in 2014.
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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate this complaint because the events happened too long ago. Mr X says he complained to the Council at the time but did not receive a response. I see no reason why he could not have pursued this further with the Council or asked the Ombudsman to investigate sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the events happened too long ago.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman