Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s actions when it started a child protection investigation in respect of his child. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint because the matters complained about are too closely related to those considered by the court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s actions during a child protection investigation and care proceedings about his son, D.
2. Mr X says the family suffered significant distress and the concerns about D were unfounded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)
6. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
7. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I spoke with Mr X and reviewed the information he provided.
9. We made preliminary enquiries of the Council and I reviewed the information provided.
10. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

11. In August 2020, the Council carried out enquiries as part of a child protection investigation into concerns raised about Mr X’s son (D).
12. The Council started care proceedings in court.
13. Prior to the initial court hearing, Mr X and his partner agreed that D should live temporarily with a family member. This arrangement was made under the Children Act, section 20.
14. Mr X says he was pressurised by the social worker into agreeing to this.
15. In November 2020, having carried out parenting assessments and obtaining medical reports, the Council withdrew the court proceedings.
16. D returned to his parents’ care.
17. Mr X complained to the Council about the way it handled the child protection investigation and resultant court proceedings and the impact on him.
18. The Council told Mr X it could not consider his complaint because it related to matters that had been put before the court. Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

19. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the substantive matter was considered by the court and the law does not allow us to investigate anything which forms part of legal proceedings.
20. Mr X says he wants us to investigate the Council’s actions, particularly those of the social worker, rather than what happened at court. However, these matters are closely related to what happened at court and are not separable. It is for this reason I cannot continue with my investigation

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Final decision

21. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint because it is too closely linked to what was considered by the court. This means the complaint is out of our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman