Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about child protection. This is because the matters complained of are not separable from matters subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council has ignored his child protection referrals and left his daughter at risk living with a registered sex offender. He said it has also withheld data.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Mr X’s correspondence with the Council confirms his daughter is living in the same household as a person whose name is on the sex offenders’ register. While we could normally consider a complaint about child protection, that power ends where the matters complained of are inextricably linked to court action. In this case, Mr X’s complaint to the Council refers to the Council having been asked to write a Section 7 report for it to consider. His complaint also refers to the court’s view about the child’s safety. Mr X says the Council should have acted on his referrals, and he wishes the Council to take immediate action to protect his child. But we cannot consider these matters, either now, or after the court action has ended. This is because they have been or could reasonably be mentioned as part of the court proceedings.
10. Although the data matters of which Mr X complains are not separable from matters that have or could reasonably form part of court proceedings, we would not consider them even if that were not the case. This is because the Information Commisioner’s Office (ICO) has powers to require disclosure, rectification, and to impose penalties, that we lack.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters he complains of are not separable from matters that have already been or could reasonably be raised in court.
12. Even if that were not so, we would not investigate data matters that the ICO is better placed than us to consider.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman