The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about matters involving the care of his children. The law prevents us from investigating anything which is or has been the subject of court proceedings. It would be reasonable for Mr X to raise any concerns he has directly with the court about existing care arrangements for his children.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has ignored his concerns about the safety of his children. He wants another Social Worker and Team Manager allocated to the case, his concerns investigated and a financial remedy.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) 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 complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has declined to investigate Mr X’s complaint because his children’s care arrangements are the subject of ongoing court proceedings and should be raised in that forum.
Like the Council, we have no power to intervene or make decisions in place of the court. It would be reasonable for Mr X to highlight the concerns he has with the court directly or through his legal representative(s).
We also have no power to direct the Council to reallocate his children’s case to another Social Worker and/or Team Manager. For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating anything that has or is happening in court, or make decisions in place of the court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman