The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not allowing contact between Mr X and his children. The matter complained of is not separable from matters in respect of which there was a right to go to court it would have been reasonable to use.
The complaint
Mr X (now deceased) and Mrs X said the Council wrongly refused to allow contact between Mr X and his children.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 complainants.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council decided Mr X should not be able to see his children in person due to what it felt was a risk. Only a court can decide what contact arrangements for children should be in the event of a dispute.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because contact with children is a matter that can only be decided by a court where a person disagrees with a council’s assessment. Mr and Mrs X therefore had a right to go to court it would have reasonable to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman