Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about child contact and the Council’s handling of a child in need plan. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to take the matter to court. Additionally, there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered Ms X’s concerns to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council has not adhered to court-ordered contact with her child.
2. Ms X also said the Council had not properly considered her concerns about the child’s welfare in the care of their special guardian.
3. Ms X said this caused distress.
4. Ms X wants the Council to adhere to court-ordered contact, properly consider her concerns about the child’s welfare and review its processes.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
7. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. Ms X has a child, Y, who lives with their special guardian.
11. Ms X said the Council has not adhered to court-ordered contact for her with Y. The Council told Ms X that because Y is not a looked after child, it is not obliged to arrange contact. The Council advised Ms X to seek legal advice about her concerns about contact.
12. We cannot investigate this part of Ms X’s complaint. This is a private contact dispute that requires the court to resolve. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to take the matter to court.
13. Ms X also said the Council had not properly considered her concerns about Y’s welfare in the care of their special guardian. The Council told Ms X that it had considered her concerns and decided it would continue to monitor Y via child in need planning.
14. We will not investigate this part of Ms X’s complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered her concerns. Additionally, Ms X can raise her concerns with the court if she chooses to pursue a court resolution for the contact matter.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to take the matter to court. Also, there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered her concerns.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman