The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to provide the complainant with appropriate support when he started caring for three children in 2005 and that the Council lost the family's personal records. This is because the events happened too long ago, and complaints about lost personal information can be raised with the Information Commissioner.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council failed to provide him with adequate support when he started caring for his two siblings and his niece in 2005. He also complains that the Council has lost he and his family's personal information from around the time.
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) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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
The events Mr X complains about happened in 2005. He complained to the Council in 2019, who investigated it under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. In September 2020, Mr X asked for his complaint to be progressed to stage three of the procedure. However, the Council recommended that he approach the Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the lack of support he received in 2005. This is because the events happened in 2005, and I see no reason why he could not have raised these with the Council sooner. We may have considered how the Council had managed the complaints process if he had complained to is in 2020. However, he delayed coming to us by 16 months. I therefore will not consider this element of the complaint now.
I will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has lost the family's personal records. This is because he can raise this issue with the Information Commissioner who is better placed to investigate such matters.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the events happened too long ago and because he can raise the issue of lost records with the Information Commissioner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman