The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.
The complaint
The complainant, Miss X, complains about the Council’s actions in its child protection involvement with her child.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 told Miss X it will not consider her complaint now because it is related to matters subject to ongoing private court proceedings. It advised Miss X to raise her concerns during the proceedings and to seek legal advice. It explained Miss X can resubmit her complaint to the Council once the proceedings have concluded but that it cannot consider the court’s decision or matters considered in the proceedings.
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint via its complaints procedure whilst there are ongoing proceedings. This is to ensure the proceedings, which take precedence over a complaint investigation, are not prejudiced by a concurrent investigation. The Council has reached this decision in line with the statutory guidance for local authorities on the handling of children’s services complaints which gives it discretion to decide not to investigate where there are ongoing proceedings. It is a decision it is entitled to make.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman