The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to comply with the Court’s orders. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters that are being or have been considered in court. The complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained the Council had failed to comply with the Court’s orders after it became involved with his family. Mr X said the Council failed to arrange courses and provide minutes from meetings. Mr X has already raised his concerns about the Council’s actions with the Court. He is also unhappy with the social workers involved with his family. The Council says it will not consider Mr X's complaint because it is linked to court proceedings.
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We cannot consider complaints about what happened in court. We cannot consider a complaint about the Council failing to follow the Court’s directions. That is a matter Mr X needs to pursue with the Court. The actions of the Council’s officers cannot be separated from matters which are outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman