The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s actions between 2014 and 2016 when it removed her children from her care. The complaint is very late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now so long after the events complained about.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the Council’s actions between 2014 and 2016 when her children were wrongly removed from her care and about the impact it has had on her.
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) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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
Mrs X complained to the Council about these matters in late 2025. The Council said it would not consider her complaint via its complaints procedure because it was made about events that happened over 12 months ago.
Mrs X says she initially complained to the Council after her children were returned to her care but did not feel able to pursue the complaint further at that time. This was due to medical reasons and because she feared it could lead to a further investigation being initiated against her.
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late as per the restriction set out in paragraph 3, above. The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of the person affected first becoming aware of the matter. Whilst I acknowledge Mrs X has explained she did not feel able to complain sooner, there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider this very late complaint now, more than a decade after Mrs X first became aware of the matter.
There is no realistic prospect of us being able to carry out full, fair and effective investigation into these matters and reach a reliable view on events over a decade ago. Further to this, changes in staff, policies, guidance and practice since these events would also impact our ability to carry out a reliable, meaningful investigation 10 to 12 years after the events complained about.
As part of her complaint, Mrs X also complains the Council wrongly shared her personal, medical information with third parties without her consent. This is a matter that would be best considered and decided by the Information Commissioner’s Office rather than by us. It is the body set up to consider complaints about alleged data breaches and so it is best placed to consider it.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman