Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s actions when it removed her child from her care. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council was unprofessional in the way it removed her child from her care. She also complains about a lack of support and therapy since then.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. 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))
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. Miss X complained to the Council that it was unprofessional in the way it removed her child from her care.
9. The Council told Miss X it would not consider her complaint via its complaints procedure at present because her child’s case is currently subject to ongoing family court proceedings. It noted that most of the points Miss X raised in her complaint could be considered by the court during the proceedings. It explained that where there are ongoing court proceedings, it has discretion to decide not to investigate a complaint if it considers it could potentially prejudice or impact the proceedings to do so.
10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings. As set out in the Council’s response, this is to ensure the proceedings, which must take precedence over a complaint investigation, are not put at risk of being prejudiced by a concurrent investigation. It is a decision the Council has discretion to make, in line with the statutory guidance to local authority children’s services on the handling of complaints where there are ongoing proceedings.
11. It will be open to Miss X to resubmit her complaint to the Council once the court proceedings have concluded to see whether there are any residual matters it can consider which were not, and could not have been, raised during the proceedings.
12. We cannot investigate complaints about matters that are being, or have been considered in court proceedings, or which could have been considered in court. Such matters lie outside our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider them.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman