Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the arrangements made for his daughter under a court order. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered and decided in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the arrangements in place for his daughter. There is a court order in place which allows him only limited, supervised contact once per month. Mr X says he has been discriminated against due to his Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has been told he cannot see his daughter unsupervised, but the reasons for this are not valid. Mr X disagrees with the decision to place his daughter with his relative who he says is bad-tempered, violent and previously bullied him. He would like the court order to be changed to allow him to have unsupervised contact with his daughter as he is more than capable of taking care of her by himself.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the arrangements in place for his daughter, as set out above.
7. The Council told Mr X it would not consider his complaint via its complaints procedure. This is because the issues raised relate to matters that have been ordered by the court. It explained that in order to change the court order Mr X would need to challenge the order via the courts. It recommended Mr X seek legal advice on the matter.
8. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law says we cannot consider complaints about matters that have been subject to court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.
9. A request for any changes to be made to the current court order would need to be made to the court to consider. We cannot consider, question or change the court’s decisions.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction and the law prevents us from considering it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman