Summary: We will not investigate this complaint. Mrs X does not have parental responsibility for her great grandchild. The law also prevents us from looking at court action or anything that happened in court.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council refused to take her complaint as the child’s great‑grandmother. She says the Council relied on unproven claims from the mother. She says it ignored evidence of the mother’s abuse, the father’s efforts to rehabilitate, and drug tests showing he was not an addict. She also says the Council misrepresented events, repeated defamatory comments about the paternal family, and failed to treat the father fairly. Mrs X wants us to recommend and facilitate open contact between the father and his son.

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

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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 raising concerns about the care and welfare of her great grandchild. Mrs X wants us to recommend and facilitate open contact between the father and his son.
9. The Council said it was limited in what it could share with Mrs X because she does not have parental responsibility for the child, and it can only consider complaints made by someone who holds parental responsibility.
10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to accept her complaint because she does not have parental responsibility for the child. The Council’s decision is made in line with the statutory guidance for local authority children’s services on the handling of complaints.
11. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the issues she 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.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she does not have parental responsibility for the child concerned. We also cannot intervene in cases that have commenced court proceedings. The law prevents us from looking at court action or anything that happened in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman