Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his child’s case. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council’s handling of his son’s case is putting his wellbeing at risk. Mr X says his son is currently living in substandard conditions in his residential placement under an interim care order with a care team that cannot look after his holistic wellbeing. This is putting him at risk of harm and has led to a deterioration in his emotional wellbeing. He has also had no education since March 2025. Mr X has been in daily disputes with the Council since the placement began and, despite clear instructions from the judge at the last court hearing, it continues to ignore instructions, refuses to communicate reasonably and actively blocks arrangements that support his son’s wellbeing. Mr X says the Council focuses on trivial, procedural matters whilst ignoring the fundamental, unaddressed issues.

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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 and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X complained to the Council setting out numerous concerns about its handling of his son’s case.
9. The Council told Mr X it would not consider his complaint whilst the case was subject to ongoing court proceedings. It said it could be prejudicial to the ongoing proceedings for it to respond to the issues raised outside of the proceedings. It advised Mr X to raise his concerns to his legal representative and asked him to contact the Council if he wants to pursue his complaint once the proceedings have concluded.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider Mr X’s complaint whilst the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings. This is to ensure the proceedings 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. As set out in the Council’s response, Mr X can resubmit his complaint to the Council once the court proceedings have concluded. The Council will then be able to assess whether there are any residual matters it can consider via its complaints procedure.
12. We cannot investigate complaints about matters that are being, or have been considered in court proceedings, or which could have been raised to and 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 Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman