Southend-on-Sea City Council (24 020 859)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 May 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in safeguarding a child and adhering to the recommendations of a report. The matters complained of are closely linked to decisions about the care arrangements for a child, which have been subject to court action, and we are thus legally prevented from investigating them.
The complaint
- Mr X complained on behalf of a member of his family, Miss Y. He said the Council failed to follow the recommendations of a report that was part of its own complaint process, or to explain why it had not done this. He said this left a child of his family at risk of harm.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Court action took place in late 2024 to decide who should care for and/or have contact with the child. Arguments about the risk of harm to the child were or could reasonably have been raised in court as they would be directly relevant to who the child lived with and/or had contact with.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint on behalf of Miss Y because the matters complained of are closely linked to matters that were or could have been raised during court action. A legal bar permanently prevents us investigating these matters.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman