Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s recording of a safeguarding referral in 2020. This is because this matter is closely related to the matter of alleged safeguarding failings by the Council since 2020, which Mrs X said caused her to have to take court action over a period of four years to protect her children. The existence of court action concerning the children’s safety since 2020 creates a permanent and absolute legal bar that prevents us investigating this matter.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said she discovered during the investigation of another complaint that the Council had failed to record a safeguarding referral made in 2020. She said the Council’s actions had caused her to have to take court action to protect her child and that this had continued for four years. She wanted the Council to reimburse her court fees and to explain where the missing records had gone.

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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 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))
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by the complainantl.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Although the complaint relates to matters from 2020, I am satisfied that Mrs X was unaware of it until her more recent complaint. However, the complaint concerns her discovery of an alleged matter relating to the Council’s involvement with her family that is closely related to court action Mrs X said was caused by the Council’s safeguarding failings. The existence or non-existence of a record of a safeguarding referral from 2020 is closely related to the matter of whether the Council should have taken child protection action before 2021. And it is both likely and reasonable that the issue of the Council alleged failure to act sooner would have been raised during court proceedings at some point over the four-year. Any subsequent discovery that the Council may not have had a record of the referral does not create a separable issue, but goes directly to matters that occasioned the court action.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is about a matter that is closely related to matters that either were or could reasonably have been raised during court proceedings.
9. The reimbursement of legal fees is a matter that would be for a court to decide, so it would be reasonable for Mrs X to return to court to seek legal costs.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman