Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s social services involvement with children in Miss X’s family. The children’s case has been considered in court, so we are prevented from investigating the substantive matters. We also cannot achieve the outcomes Miss X seeks. Only the courts can make decisions relating to the children’s residence and contact.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council:
• failed to deal effectively with concerns about children in her wider family;
• did not facilitate contact between her side of the family and the children;
• did not provide her side of the family with updates about the children; and
• failed to respond to her complaints.
2. Miss X said the children remained at risk due to contact continuing with unsafe family members. She also said the Council’s lack of action caused an adult family member’s death, and her side of the family have experienced significant distress.
3. Miss X wanted the Council to change the law relating to parental rights, move the children to a suitable permanent placement, facilitate their contact with the children, make service improvements and pay compensation to the children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

6. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
7. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. Miss X’s complaint concerns children within her wider family. Miss X does not have parental responsibility for the children, so she was not party to proceedings that have taken place. She told us she was concerned the Council had not presented her side of the family’s views in court.
11. The law prevents us investigating matters that have been considered in court. We have no power to investigate the substance of the Council’s representations to court, nor can we consider its assessments that formed the basis for its representations.
12. We cannot achieve the outcomes Miss X seeks from complaining. We have no power to make changes to the law regarding parental responsibility. Only the courts, not the Council or the Ombudsman, can make decisions about a child’s residence and contact. It is open to Miss X to seek legal advice with a view to either applying to be made party to the ongoing proceedings, or issuing further proceedings herself.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because:
• the children’s case has been considered in court;
• we cannot achieve the outcomes Miss X seeks; and
• only the courts can make decisions relating to the children’s residence and contact.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman