The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council has dealt with investigations into complaints concerning harassment. This is because his complaint is made late and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.
The complaint
Mr X complains about how the Council has dealt with his reports of harassment which go back to 2019. He complains that the Council failed to consider relevant information in his complaints from 2022 and failed to provide the Ombudsman with relevant information under a case closed in 2023.
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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late. The issues he complains about are about matters going back several years and I see no good reason why he could not have asked the Ombudsman to investigate them sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman