Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is at fault in refusing to involve the complainant in matters relating to his child. This is because the complaint is closely related to matters which have been, or can be, raised in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council is at fault in preventing him from being involved in his child’s Child in Need plan, and refusing to allow him to attend review meetings.

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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. 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)
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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s child lives with another party under a special guardianship order. He is the subject of a Child in Need plan. Mr X complains that the Council has excluded him from discussions on matters relating to his child. Specifically, he complains that the Council has refused to involve him in the discussions around the Child in Need plan, thereby isolating him from his child.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The correspondence he has provided shows that the Council’s approach towards the child’s needs, and Mr X’s involvement, was set out in a Section 37 report to the Court. It is clear therefore that the child’s care, and Mr X’s involvement in it, has been considered in court.
8. The matter Mr X has raised is not separable from the matters considered by the Court. As such, the Ombudsman will not investigate it. If Mr X disagrees with the current arrangements, his recourse is to take the matter back to court. There is no role for the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not separable from matters which have been, or can be, raised in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman