Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that he is owed foster payments for a child he cared for from 2017 to 2020. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and I see no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council owes him foster payments for a child he cared for from early 2017 to early 2020. Mr X also complains the Council bullied him and discriminated against him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X submitted a claim to the Council for foster payments he said he was owed for caring for a child from early 2017 until early 2020.
8. In response, the Council explained it was a private fostering arrangement and it had not placed the child with Mr X. It said it made this clear throughout and there were no payments owed to Mr X. It denied Mr X's claim that it had discriminated against him or bullied him.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late. The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of the person affected first becoming aware of the matter. I see no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider this very late complaint now over six years on from when Mr X was first aware of the matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman