Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a viability assessment carried out by the Council. This is because the substantive matter has been considered as part of court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council was at fault in the production and sharing of a viability assessment for her and her husband as kinship carers, and failed to respond appropriately to her subsequent requests for information.

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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)
4. 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))

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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. Mrs X’s grandchildren have been the subject of legal proceedings relating to their care. In the course of the proceedings the Council carried out a viability assessment to consider whether Mrs X and her husband would be suitable carers for the children. Mrs X says the result of the viability assessment was adverse. She complains it contained inaccurate and incomplete information and that the findings were not based on evidence.
8. Mrs X says the Council submitted the viability assessment to the court without giving her a fair opportunity to see or challenge it. She says she has been unable to establish what evidence was relied on and the inaccuracies remain on the Council’s records. In her view, the outcome of the fault on the Council’s part is that she and her husband have been excluded from the children’s lives.
9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. The viability assessment was submitted to the court and became part of the legal process. This means that, by law, we cannot consider its content or preparation. This is not a matter where there is any discretion available to us. We cannot intervene.
10. Where a substantive matter does not fall to be investigated, the Ombudsman will not normally investigate how a council has considered a complaint about it. It is not a good use of our resources to do so. Neither will we ask councils to retrospectively alter their records. If Mrs X believes the Council’s records include false information about her, she may use her legal right to rectification. There is no role for the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it concerns a matter which has been considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman