Middlesbrough Borough Council (22 002 690)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Jun 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a child’s education and Special Educational Needs provision. This is because this matter is currently part of ongoing court proceedings.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Ms X, complains about how the Council has dealt with matters relating to her daughter’s education and Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision.
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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because the Council has commenced legal proceedings in relation to the matters complained about. These proceedings are ongoing.
- The Council has said it would investigate Ms X’s complaints once these proceedings have ended. It is therefore reasonable for Ms X to ask for the council to review her complaint once the proceedings have ended.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matter is subject to ongoing court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman