Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of contact between him and his children. The law prevents us from investigating anything that is or has been subject of court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council will not investigate his complaint. He says he has been prevented from seeing his children and the Council has displayed bias and failed to act on safeguarding concerns.
2. Mr X says this separation is causing significant distress to him. He wants access to his children, and to be reimbursed for all legal costs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council declined to investigate and respond to Mr X’s complaint. It explained ongoing court proceedings mean it should not respond to his concerns under the complaint procedure, as they are too closely linked. Mr X’s complaint is based on his contact with his children and the Council’s alleged failure to support him.
7. The Council has invited Mr X to return with his complaint when Court proceedings have ended but will not be able to overturn any decisions made by the Court.
8. The Council does not have parental responsibility and therefore has no powers around Mr X’s contact with his children. The Council are not responsible for contact arrangements, which is a matter for the court to decide. The Child in Need (CIN) plan is voluntary, so when Mr X’s ex-partner stopped engaging, the Council could not act further unless it identified safeguarding concerns which triggered its intervention on Child Protection grounds.
9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the issue of his children’s contact arrangements is the subject of ongoing court proceedings. The law prevents us from investigating anything that is or has happened in court. It would be for Mr X to raise any concerns about his ongoing contact arrangements with the Court as only it can decide what is in the best interests of the children and any matters of dispute.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating anything that is or has been the subject of court proceedings. His complaint is too closely linked.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman