Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about information the Council has provided to the family court in ongoing court proceedings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X complained to the Council about information it provided to the court in family court proceedings. Mr X said the social worker was hostile, biased in favour of his son’s mother and provided inaccurate information to the family court.
9. The family court proceedings are ongoing.
10. The Council told Mr X it could not consider his complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded. This is because to do so could compromise the proceedings and because the complaints process cannot provide the outcomes Mr X sought whilst the proceedings were still ongoing. The Council told Mr X he could resubmit his complaint for consideration within 12 months of the court proceedings concluding.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint until the court proceedings have concluded and there is nothing further we could add to the Council’s response explaining its decision. This approach ensures the court proceedings, which must take precedence, are not prejudiced.
12. If Mr X remains dissatisfied with the Council’s final response once it is able to consider the complaint then we can assess it to see if it is a matter we can and should investigate. However, the law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that are being, or have been, considered in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so. This restriction also applies to information or reports provided to the court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman