Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to act to safeguard the complainant’s daughter. This is because the complaint concerns matters which are the subject of legal action and are for the Court to decide.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council has failed to act to safeguard her daughter.

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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 have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X’s daughter lives with her father and her care is the subject of private law proceedings. The Court has tasked the Council with producing a welfare report under section 7 of the Children Act 1989. The complaint correspondence indicates that the section 7 report recommends that Mrs X’s daughter remain in her father’s care, in accordance with her wishes.
8. Mrs X complains that the evidence she has presented to the Council about her daughter’s welfare has been ignored and disbelieved. She believes the Council’s position is unreasonable and amounts to a failure to safeguard her daughter.
9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. Given that her daughter’s care is the subject of private law proceedings, Mrs X may bring her concerns about her welfare to the Court’s attention. It would be reasonable for her to do so and there are no grounds for us to intervene.
10. Section 7 reports are produced for the use of the Court and are the Court’s property. By law, we cannot investigate the evidence presented to a court. This includes matters relating to the content and production of section 7 reports. We have no discretion on this point and cannot pursue the matter.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it concerns matters which are for a court to decide.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman