The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the contact arrangements that arose from court proceedings. The law says we cannot investigate matters considered by a court or issues that are too closely linked to court proceedings.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has wrongly restricted contact with his son to supervised contact and FaceTime only. He says a court order allows unsupervised contact for two nights per week and shared care during school holidays, and that the restrictions are damaging his relationship with his son. He wants the Council to allow alternative direct contact.
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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he should have unsupervised contact with his son and wants the Council to allow alternative direct contact as per the court order. The Council told Mr X the decision for contact to be supervised was made by the court and advised him to seek legal advice if he disagreed with that decision.
Any disagreement about the contact arrangements, including the interpretation of or compliance with a court order, is best considered by the court.
We cannot investigate matters considered by a court or direct the Council to alter contact arrangements determined through that process. The law says we cannot investigate matters considered by a court or issues that are too closely linked to court proceedings.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’ complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters considered by a court or issues that are too closely connected with court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman