• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• What I found
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary:We cannot and will not investigate Mrs and Mr X’s complaint about lack of contact with a child the Council looks after. A Court is currently considering the child’s contact arrangements and we cannot obtain the outcome they seek.

The complaint

1. The complainants, whom I shall call Mrs and Mr X, say the Council has failed to facilitate contact between them and their grandchild, Y. They say this has caused them pain and distress.

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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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word 'fault' to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mrs and Mr X provided with their complaint and the Council’s replies to them which it provided. Mrs and Mr X had the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs and Mr X says they have not seen their grandchild Y, face to face, since September 2019. The Council cares for Y and shares parental responsibility for them with their mother, Ms Z.
6. The Council says that a Court decided in June 2020 that Mrs and Mr X should have telephone or virtual contact only. It says it set out a timetable for this to happen. The Council also say the Court is considering again the contact Y should have with their family.

Analysis

7. We cannot get the outcome Mrs and Mr X seek of more contact with their grandchild. Only a Court can order this.
8. We cannot investigate the same issues the Court is considering and it is currently considering the contact between Y and their family.
9. It is not appropriate to consider the contact which falls outside the Court proceedings while those proceedings continue.

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Final decision

10. We will not and cannot investigate this complaint. This is because we are not able to obtain the result they seek, and we cannot investigate the same issues the Court is considering.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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