The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s children services actions regarding the education of her child. The Council has recently applied for an interim care order and so the Court is currently considering these matters.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Ms X, complains about how the Council has managed the education of her son. She says the Council have incorrectly decided that her son has a disability and considers its social services are harassing her by making her son the subject of a Child Protection Plan.
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 a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, 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
The Council became involved with Ms X’s family after her son stopped attending school. The Council consider that Ms X’s son has a disability and that he is suffering significant harm in her care and has therefore made her son the subject of a Child Protection Plan. Ms X disagrees with the Council, she wants the Council to find a new school for her son and for the Council’s children’s services to stop harassing her.
I cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because the Council has recently applied to the courts for an interim care order. The Courts will now decide upon the care needs of Z, including matter relating to his education. The law does not allow us to investigate complaint about matters which are subject to court proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the issues raised are subject to court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman