Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (25 009 304)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Nov 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the contact arrangements in place for his child. This is because these are matters that have been decided by the courts. If Mr X believes the Council are in breach of a court order it is reasonable for him to raise this in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complaint the Council has suspended his supervised contact with his child without reason. He wants the Council to follow the agreed plans for contact and to prevent this from happening again.
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 about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, 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 Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. Only a court can order or enforce contact arrangements between Mr X and his child. We cannot do this. Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s actions relates directly to its decisions about this contact. If Mr X feels the Council has breached the court order by suspending the existing contact arrangements it would be reasonable for him to raise this with the courts.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because Mr X has the right to return to court about the matter and it would be reasonable in the circumstances of this case for him to do so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman