The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council’s handling of child protection matters involving Mrs X’s grandchild. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been the subject of court proceedings.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council has failed to safeguard her grandchild and has ignored her concerns. She says this has caused significant distress. She wants the Council to take her concerns seriously and award compensation to those involved.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) 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.
My assessment
The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
The Council has given the following reasons why it will not consider Mrs X’s complaint under the statutory process: Mrs X does not have parental responsibility for her grandchild and therefore does not have standing to complaint under the procedure.
Some of the issues complained of have been the subject of care proceedings in court, which are also excluded from the statutory procedure.
The issues complained of occurred more than 12 months ago and are too late to consider under the procedure.
The reasons the Council has given also apply in our case. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been to court. It would be for Mrs X to raise any concerns she has about information the Council has provided to the court in that forum. Any ongoing issues Mrs X might have about her contact with her grandchild are also matters for the court to consider and determine.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint because the law prevents us from investigating anything relating to court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman