London Borough of Barnet (19 007 118)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Feb 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms J’s complaint about the Council’s involvement with Mr K’s family. This is because the complaint is about what happened in court, and the issues raised could have been considered in court.
The complaint
- Ms J complains, on behalf of Mr K, about the involvement of the Council with Mr K’s family. She says this has caused avoidable distress and stopped him having contact with his children.
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 discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered the information Ms J provided with the complaint and discussed the complaint with her. I have considered information provided by the Council about its consideration of the complaint, and the court proceedings which have taken place involvement Mr K’s family.
What I found
- The Council took Mr K’s children into care because of concerns about their welfare. The matter was then considered in court and Ms J is complaining about what the Council wrote in the court reports. So the complaint is about what happened in court. This means the law does not allow us to investigate it.
- The court has issued an order in respect of the children’s care. So Mr K had the opportunity to raise his concerns about the Council’s actions in court. And he could return to court, for an order setting out arrangements for his contact with his children. These are further reasons why we should not investigate.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the matters Mrs J complains of, have been considered in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman