Lancashire County Council (21 017 648)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a contact arrangement plan the Council submitted in court proceedings. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is made in relation to matters that have been considered in court. The law prevents us from investigating such matters.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about a contact arrangement plan the Council submitted in family court proceedings.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complains about a contact arrangement plan the Council submitted to the court which differed to the one she had agreed and sought legal advice on. Mrs X did not agree with the amended plan and did not think it was in the best interests of the child involved. However, as she was not party to proceedings she was not invited to speak on it.
- The Council has told Mrs X it will not consider her complaint because it is made in relation to a matter that has been considered in court proceedings. It advised Mrs X to contact the courts or seek legal advice about any dissatisfaction with the court’s decision.
- The law prevents us from considering complaints about matters that are being, or have been, considered in court proceedings. This restriction also applies to reports which are presented to the courts.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from considering matters that have been considered and decided in court. We have no discretion to do so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman