The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about Miss X’s care when she was a looked-after child. She could have complained sooner and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate her complaint now.
The complaint
Miss X said the care the Council provided in 2001 when she was a looked-after child was poor, and that this caused trauma. She said she has only as an adult been able to face the trauma and complain.
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
We would not expect Miss X to have complained about her care when she was a child. Nor would be expect Miss X to have complained about her care immediately she reached adulthood. However, significantly more than a decade has passed since she became an adult, and she has not claimed she has been coerced into concealing what happened. Therefore, it would have been reasonable for her to complain to us sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman