Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the involvement of the Council’s children’s services with the complainants family. This is because the matter is subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr C, complains about the Council’s children’s services involvement with his family. Mr C complains that the Council is at fault for its engagement with his family, in the production of a Section 7 report for the courts.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mr C’s complaint and the Council’s responses.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. As part of private law proceedings involving children, the court may ask the Council to produce a report. The court will then consider the report as part of its decision making.
7. Mr C is involved in private court proceedings regarding contact with his child. The court directed the Council to produce a section 7 report.
8. Mr C complains about the Council’s actions in its preparation of the report. He says the Council has failed to properly engage with his children, has failed to follow correct procedures when carrying out its assessment, and has failed to properly manage records. Mr C says the Council will therefore be unable to produce an accurate reports for the upcoming court hearing.
9. I cannot start an investigation because the law says we cannot investigate any matter that forms part of legal proceedings. The court ordered the Council to produce the report and the report will be considered in court as part of the legal proceedings. Mr C will need to raise any concerns he has about the contents of the report or about how it was produced in court. There is therefore no part of the complaint that I can investigate.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the matters form part of court proceedings.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman