Summary: We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X does not have parental responsibility, and we cannot consider allegations about staff or disciplinary matters. The law also prevents us from looking at court action or anything that happened in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, says the Council did not tell his nephew’s immediate family where the respite placement would be. He says they ignored more than 15 messages about the child’s safety and did not consider the family home as the first option for respite.

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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 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, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X complained to the Council raising concerns about the care and welfare of his nephew.
8. The Council said it was limited in what it could share with Mr X because he does not have parental responsibility for the child, and it can only consider complaints made by someone who holds parental responsibility.
9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there no evidence to suggest an investigation would find any fault in the Council’s decision not to accept his complaint because he does not have parental responsibility for the children. The Council’s decision is made in line with the statutory guidance for local authority children’s services on the handling of complaints.
10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the issues he raises fall within ongoing court proceedings. The law stops us from examining any matter the court is considering, including the Council’s actions that relate to the child’s care or contact arrangements. These matters sit within the court’s remit, so they fall outside our jurisdiction.
11. I also cannot achieve the outcome that Mr X is seeking. We cannot recommend the Council discipline it’s officers. This would be an internal matter for the Council and not the Ombudsman to decide.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because he does not have parental responsibility for the child concerned and the law prevents us from investigating anything that has or is being considered by the court.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman