Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about child protection action taken by the Council. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council was not listening to him or his partner and that the matters the Council was bringing up had been disproved in a court.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, including a copy in confidence of the information upon which the Council made its decision.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The threshold for child protection action is far lower than that in a civil or criminal court. It is simply that a council may take action to protect a child when it considers there is a risk of significant harm.
6. In this case, the matters the Council considered were numerous and covered a long period. They were of a nature that meant the Council’s decision to take child protection action in the spring of 2024 was within the range open to it as a matter of professional judgement. That Mr X disagrees with the decision is not evidence of fault.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our further involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman