Buckinghamshire Council (22 007 584)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Oct 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about children services actions because legal proceedings cover the same issues.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council’s children services team has not properly considered his family and has produced unfair and inaccurate reports.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council’s children services team has failed to properly investigate his family’s circumstances and his child’s care. Mr X says there are ongoing Court proceedings to decide his child’s care arrangements. He says the Council has taken sides and has not been fair. He says it has provided inaccurate and unfair reports to the Court.
- Mr X says the Council has held child protection conferences, but they are currently waiting for the Court’s decision. He says the Court has appointed an independent guardian to represent the child’s interests in court.
- Mr X says he wants an independent investigation.
Analysis
- We cannot investigate the preparation or content of reports or information the Council gave the Courts.
- We cannot investigate the same issues the Court is considering. This includes the child’s care arrangements, the care the child is receiving, whether there should be an independent family assessment and whether the Council’s children services team should carry out a more detailed assessment.
- It is reasonable to expect Mr X to tell the Court of his views of the Council’s evidence and to request independent assessments through the court process.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate the same events the Court is considering.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman