The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to allow Mrs X to visit her late mother Mrs Y whilst she was in residential care. This is because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago; it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to bring the complaint to us sooner.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council would not allow her to visit her late mother whilst she was in residential care.
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 Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X’s mother Mrs Y died in early 2022. In May 2023, Mrs X contacted the Council to complain that she had been unable to visit Mrs Y prior to her death. She also asked for information about Mrs Y’s condition before her death.
The Council did not uphold Mrs X’s complaint stating it had followed the guidelines in place at the time around visiting restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council provided Mrs X with information on record regarding Mrs Y’s condition around the time she died and confirmed how many times Mrs Y was checked on by staff.
Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman because she is unhappy with the Council’s response. The evidence shows the events Mrs X is complaining about took place more than 12 months ago. The Ombudsman will not usually exercise discretion to investigate matters that took place this long ago unless there are good reasons for the delay. In this case, it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to bring the complaint to us at the time as she has been aware of these matters since 2022.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago; it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to bring the complaint to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman