Thurrock Council (23 012 390)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Dec 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council‘s response to Mr X’s concerns about his children. The matters he complains of concern who is best placed to care for the children and issues of contact. They are matters only a court can resolve. Mr X has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council:
- Trivialised his daughter’s disclosures to him;
- Discriminated against him and dismissed him as a parent;
- Colluded with his wife in alienating their children; and
- Refused to assess and protect his children from psychological harm.
- Mr X said he has not seen his daughter for a year.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X takes the view his wife has harmed their children by means of parental alienation. The Council reached the view that Mr X’s concerns do not create a child protection reason for it to act. We could not substitute our own judgement for that of the Council.
- The matter at hand centres on who can best provide care for Mr X’s children. Only a court could change the contact or residence arrangements. We have no legal power to do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from matters concerning the residence and contact arrangements for children. These are matters only a court can determine. It would be reasonable for Mr X to use his right to go to court to seek changed arrangements.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman