Salford City Council (25 004 059)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s use of a contact centre. The matter complained of is closely linked to decisions about contact and residence of a child that were subject to court action.
The complaint
- Ms X said the Council misused a contact centre in private law proceedings. She said it was no accredited and should be closed down or have significant changes made.
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 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.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The matter complained of involves a contact centre at the time of private court proceedings regarding where and with whom Ms X’s child should live and have contact. Ms X told me her former partner was seeking a court order and tried to get her to sign a contract about contact, but she refused. She said that nonetheless, she attended the contact centre and was dissatisfied with the approach taken by staff there, and there was a dispute. She was also unhappy with the role of a social worker.
- The complaint is clearly closely related to matters of child contact which fell to be decided by a court, and which could only be changed by a court. It would have been reasonable for Miss X to raise the matter of her dissatisfaction with the contact centre and the proposed legal agreement either during proceedings, or to return to court to do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matters she complains of could reasonably have been mentioned during court proceedings. The matter underlying the complaint, which is Ms X’s separation from her child, is also a matter only a court could address.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman