Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council acted as a financial deputy. The substantive matters are outside our jurisdiction as they were subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s actions after the Court of Protection made it financial deputy for his father, Mr Y. He said the Council did not act in Mr Y’s best interest after it allowed charges to accrue on his mortgage. He said it delayed allowing him take ownership of Mr Y’s property and pay off his mortgage in full. Mr X is also unhappy about how the Council has communicated with him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council delayed him taking ownership of Mr Y’s property leading to Mr Y accruing charges on his mortgage. That is because the Council could not make that decision without the permission of the Court. We have no jurisdiction to investigate matters that have been subject to court proceedings.
8. We will also not investigate his complaint the Council did not act in Mr Y’s best interests, or about its wider communication with him. The management of Mr X’s finances were part of ongoing proceedings with the Court of Protection. Therefore, if Mr X had any concerns the Council was not acting in Mr Y’s best interests, or was failing to respond to his concerns about Mr Y’s finances, it would have been reasonable for him to have raised this with the Court.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the substantive matters are outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman