Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to the complainant’s children. This is because it concerns matters which have been raised in court or are inextricably linked with those matters.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council’s actions in the course of its involvement with his family have been flawed, in that they have been characterised by gender bias and a lack of impartiality.

Back to top

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. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X’s children have been the subject of private law proceedings which have now concluded. The Council’s involvement included Child in Need action and the production of a report under Section 37 of the Children Act 1989.
7. Mr X complains that the Council’s actions have been characterised by gender bias and a lack of impartiality. Specifically, he argues that the Council has tried to minimise his belief that the children’s mother’s denigration of him and the paternal family amounted to parental alienation. He is critical of the content of the Section 37 report, and of the fact that there have been no consequences for the mother for what he regards as malicious referrals.
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate anything relating to the Section 37 report. The law prevents us from considering what happens in a court. This restriction extends to evidence provided to the court. This places the content of the Section 37 report and how it was produced outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and we cannot investigate. There is no discretion available to us.
9. The private law proceedings related to the care of the children and it was open to Mr X to raise his concerns about their welfare with the Court. That being the case, there are no grounds for the Ombudsman to investigate the Council’s actions in relation to the matter. If Mr X is unhappy with the current arrangements, his recourse is to go back to court. Our intervention is not warranted.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it relates to matters which were raised in court or are inextricably linked with those matters.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman