The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about child protection action and alleged failures by the Council. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.
The complaint
Mr X said the Council wrongly took child protection against him, then his child was seriously harmed in foster 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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
A late complaint is one where a person was aware of the matters they complain of more than 12 months before approaching us. We may exercise discretion to investigate a late complaint if we think a person could not have approached us within 12 months.
This complaint is late. Mr X first complained to the Council in 2022. The matters complained of are at least two and possibly more than three years in the past. The complaint correspondence states the Council offered Mr X the final stage of its complaint procedure by early 2023, and that it told him it could not agree to further requests to put back the date of the intended panel hearing. The Council told Mr X after its final response he could approach us in March 2024. He did so in February 2025. We cannot say there is a good reason to exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint as Mr X could have approached us much sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to do so now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman