The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council staff locking the complainant and her mother overnight in an office in 2015. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Miss X says the Council locked her and her mother in a council office overnight when she was enquiring about her homeless application in 2015. She says she was a minor at the time but the incident, and the discharging its homelessness duty towards her mother affected her for years afterwards.
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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X says that she was locked overnight in a council office in 2015 when her mother was making homelessness requests at the time. she copaline to the Council in 2023 but the council told her its was too long ago to make any practical investigation now. She di not complaint to us until 2024.
Miss X also says the Council’s decisions to discharge its homelessness duty to her mother affected her in the following years. The Council told her that the decision was made as long ago as 2013 and that her mother had review and appeal rights under s.202 of the housing Act 1996 which were explained at the time.
We will not investigate this complaint which was received outside the12-month period for accepting complaints. Miss X’s mother made complaints to us about some of these matters at the time and there is no good reason to consider further complaints now.
The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council staff locking the complainant and her mother overnight in an office in 2015. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman