Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to act to support the complainant and her daughter, leading to the complainant becoming alienated from her family. This is because the complaint concerns matters which have been, or can be, considered and decided in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council failed to act to safeguard her and her daughter, leading to her becoming alienated from her family.

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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 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))
4. 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

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. Miss X says the Council failed to act to support her while she was in an abusive relationship. She says that, rather than support her, the Council worked with other family members, which resulted in them obtaining a Special Guardianship Order without her knowledge. She contends that this was unlawful
8. Miss X says the Council’s lack of support led to her former partner assaulting her, and her family members being alienated from her. She says she has had no support in keeping a relationship with her daughter. The Council has declined to investigate Miss X’s complaint because of the time which has passed since the events, but has appointed a Kinship Support social worker to work with her in maintaining a relationship with her daughter.
9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The decision to grant a Special Guardianship Order is for the court to make. By law the Ombudsman cannot consider what happens in court. The courts have decided that, by law, this restriction applies to related matters such as the evidence provided by a council for use by a court. If Miss X wants the Special Guardianship Order to be ended, or is unhappy with arrangements for contact with her daughter, her recourse is to go to court. There is no role for the Ombudsman.
10. The Ombudsman cannot consider responsibility for criminal acts, so we could not find that the Council’s actions were responsible for violence carried out by a third party. This would be a matter for the police, and we cannot intervene.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it concerns matters which have been, or can be, decided in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman