The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to respond to a safeguarding referral. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation and it is for a court to decide who may safely have contact with a child.
The complaint
Miss X said the Council failed to respond when she made a safeguarding referral. She said it failed to deal with her complaint about this and she now has to face a family court hearing about contact between her ex-partner and her child with no safeguards in place to protect the child.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended) It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X’s complaint to the Council stated she had told the Council when she first contacted it that she had left the family home with her child. Councils with social care responsibilities must consider risk of harm to children. Where the person having care of the child has removed the child from the risk of harm and does not intend to place the child at risk from the alleged source, they can decide there is no need for action.
A court is due to decide the contact arrangements for the child. It is for the court to decide who may safely have contact with the child.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation. Who her child may safely have contact with, where disputed, is a matter for a court to decide.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman