Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Care Provider and Council allegedly not involving Mr X in matters relating to his adult son’s care. The law prevents us from investigating matters that are before the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council and Care Provider were not transparent in relation to his son’s (Mr Y’s) care and incidents at Mr Y’s placement. He said this caused him significant distress. He wanted the Council to make service improvements.

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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. The law says we cannot consider what happens during court proceedings. This includes any matters that have been presented to the court by any party.
8. The Council issued court proceedings in relation to Mr Y’s welfare. The matters it has asked the court to consider relate to safeguarding issues, care planning and family contact arrangements.
9. We cannot investigate a complaint where doing so would encroach on the role of the courts. While the court’s role is not to make a decision about whether the Council has acted with fault, the matters Mr X raised in his complaint to us are relevant to any decision the court makes, and it is reasonable for Mr X to raise his concerns as part of that process. All parts of his complaint are inextricably linked to the proceedings.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters that are before the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman