The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the contents of an assessment completed by the Council’s children’s services. This is because the assessment has been considered in court, which places the matter outside of our jurisdiction.
The complaint
Ms X, is represented by her grandfather who I will call Mr Z. Mr Z complains about an assessment the Council’s children’s services carried out after safeguarding concerns were raised about the care of Ms X’s unborn child. Mr Z says the Council’s assessment was inaccurate and likely influenced the courts decision to remove Ms X’s child from her care. Mr Z also complains about how the Council dealt with his complaint about these matters.
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
I cannot investigate Mr Z’s complain about the contents of the Council’s assessment. This is because decisions about his grandchild’s care have been decided in court and the information contained with the Council’s assessment has been considered during those proceedings. Ms X would have had the opportunity to challenge this information within the court proceedings.
I will not investigate Mr Z’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his complaint. This is because it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matter has been subject to court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman