Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about children services views on his child’s care arrangements. The Court is currently considering the child’s care and we cannot investigate the same issues involved in legal proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council’s children services team should not have supported his child, B, being cared for by their mother.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint and the Council’s reply to him which it provided. Mr X had an opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X has a four year old child B. He says B lived with him full time for over two years. Mr X claims the Council supported B’s mother’s attempt for B to live with her. He says this means, in his view, B is now living in a dangerous situation. He says the Council’s social worker failed to properly look at the background events and facts. He would like a new social worker to do so.
6. The Council says the mother applied to Court in the Autumn of 2018 for B to live with her. The Council says those court proceedings continue. It says the Court ordered the Council to produce reports and the Court has considered B’s current caring arrangements.

Analysis

7. We cannot investigate events and decisions which a Court is considering and deciding. B’s care arrangements are for the Court to decide. The Court is also deciding who should provide it with reports about B’s care. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to tell the Court of his concerns about the Council’s views.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the issues are before a Court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman