Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about information the Council presented in a court report. The law does not allow us to investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings. Of the matters which are separable, there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s refusal to support Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council misled the court and ignored other expert opinions in a report it submitted to court. Mr X also said it accepted his child’s (Y) views without further analysis.
2. Mr X said this led to him not receiving any contact with Y which causes him emotional distress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The only aspect of Mr X’s complaint which is arguably separable from the court’s decision, is when he asked the Council for support from its Early Help team after the court issued a judgement. The Council declined saying it could not facilitate contact and Early Help support needed consent from both parents in any case. In the event Mr X felt this decision was separable, we would not investigate it, because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law does not allow us to investigate matters which have been subject to court proceedings and of any aspect that may be separable, there is no evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman