The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his child being taken into local authority care and only allowing him supervised contact. The concerns Mr X raised have been and continue to be the subject of court action. We cannot investigate complaints about matters that are or will be the subject of court action.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the way the Council handled court action relating to his child, which led to the court making a care order. He also complained he was only allowed supervised contact and that the contact was not sufficient frequent.
Mr X said that, as a result of Council failings, he relationship with his child, and his own mental health, have been negatively affected.
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) We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained about the way the Council handled court action relating to his child. We cannot investigate complaints about the start of court action or what happened in court. Therefore, we cannot consider this part of the complaint further.
Mr X also complained the Council required his contact with his child to be supervised and about the frequency of that contact. The Council told us the contact arrangements had been discussed as part of court action in 2023 and there is a possibility of further court action in future. On this basis, we also cannot investigate the complaint about contact.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it relates to matters that have been considered by the court and may be subject to further court action in future.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman