Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s response to a safeguarding referral raised in relation to her son. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s response to a safeguarding referral she made in relation to her son. Miss X says the Council did not investigate it and it closed the case as Miss X’s son was living outside the Council’s area. Miss X says Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) lied and did not consider her evidence, which impacted the court’s decision.

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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. (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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council told Miss X it would not currently consider her complaint via its complaints procedure because it was made in relation to matters that were inextricably linked to ongoing private court proceedings. It informed Miss X she could resubmit her complaint for consideration of any separable matters once the proceedings have concluded.
8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings. It is a decision the Council has discretion to make, in line with the statutory guidance on complaint handling where there are ongoing proceedings. This is to ensure the proceedings are not put at any risk of being prejudiced by a concurrent complaint investigation.
9. As set out in the Council’s response, it will be open to Miss X to resubmit her complaint for consideration of any residual matters once the proceedings have concluded.
10. We cannot consider CAFCASS’s actions as it is not a body in our jurisdiction. Also, the law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that are being, or have been, considered in court proceedings or which could have been raised to and considered by the court. We have no discretion to do so.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate her complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman