The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in respect of the complainant’s son. This is because the complaint is late and there are no grounds to consider it now.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms X, complains that the Council was at fault in failing to act to safeguard her son and in withholding information from her.
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 provider 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
Ms X’s son lived in supported accommodation in 2017 and 2018. He passed away in 2021. Ms X complains that the Council failed to safeguard him and failed to give her information about sexual exploitation he was subject to. She says the Council’s officers worked to destroy her family and that their actions were material to her son’s death.
Ms X further complains that the Council has tried to prevent her from complaining to Social Work England and the Ombudsman. The Council says she made a complaint in 2020, to which it responded at Stage 2 of the statutory complaint procedure, and another in 2021. The Council says it declined to consider the 2021 complaint because of its subject matter, and reminded Ms X of her right to approach the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about a council’s actions. The period which is the subject of the complaint is from 2017 to 2018, and Ms X has been aware of her right to come to the Ombudsman since 2021 at the latest. The complaint is therefore late and there are no grounds to investigate it now.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there are no grounds to consider it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman