Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his child’s care arrangements since 2017. We cannot investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s handling of his complaint and we cannot achieve the outcome he is seeking.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his child’s care arrangements. He says the Council wrongly placed his child in unsuitable care since 2017, causing lasting harm to his child. He wants an arrest of members involved in the care arrangement decisions and for his child to live with the paternal family.

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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 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))

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
5. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X.
7. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and the Statutory Guidance for local authority children’s services on representations and complaints procedures (the Statutory Guidance).

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My assessment

8. The complaint response shows that decisions about the placement of Mr X’s child and related assessments, were addressed in Court. As outlined in paragraph four, the law says we cannot investigate matters about what happened in court. We do not have the power to change or overturn court decisions. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint.
9. In addition, Mr X complained to the Council under the Children’s Statutory Complaints procedure. The Council provided a stage one response. It declined to investigate at stage two because:
• some of the matters were late and could not be investigated effectively; and
• some of the outcomes Mr X is seeking could not be achieved due to the court proceedings.
10. The Council’s reasoning for declining to investigate at stage two is in line with the Statutory Guidance. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered Mr X’s complaint to justify our involvement.
11. Mr X wants an arrest of members involved in the care arrangement decisions and for his child to live with the paternal family. This is not an outcome we can achieve. Decisions about care arrangements are made by the Courts.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s handling of his complaint and we cannot achieve the outcome he is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman