Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to adhere to contact arrangements ordered by a court. There has been further court action in the past year and the alleged failure either has or could reasonably have been raised as part of the proceedings.

The complaint

1. Miss X said the Council failed to adhere to the arrangements ordered by a judge concerning her contact with her children.

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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 if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), 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 and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council provided copies of the complaint correspondence with Miss X. This correspondence makes it clear that court action had begun about the court orders applying to Miss X’s children. Even if the court action was not directly about the alleged failure to adhere to previous arrangements, it is likely that matter could reasonably have been mentioned in the proceedings.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the matters she complains of either were or could reasonably have been mentioned during court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman