Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to carry out actions ordered in the family court. It was reasonable for Mr X to raise the matter with the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council refused to consider his complaint about its failure to follow a family court order. The court ordered the Council to update the court, attend the next hearing and share information with Mr X. Mr X said the matter led to delays in the court process and caused him stress and frustration. He said it also meant he could not carry out the actions he had been ordered to by the court. Mr X wanted the Council to investigate his complaint, carry out the actions as ordered by the court, apologise and make service improvements.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X and the mother of his children are involved in family court proceedings relating to their children’s residence and contact. The court ordered in September 2025 that the Council would send it a letter setting out its involvement and attend the next hearing. The order also stated Mr X had parental responsibility for his children and therefore had the right to be informed of educational and health updates, including the name of their schools and GPs and access to their records.
6. Mr X says the Council did not complete these actions. He complained to the Council then us.
7. The proceedings remained ongoing at the time Mr X complained to us. While it is not the court’s role to decide whether the Council’s actions were fault, they were directly relevant to the proceedings and any further order the court made. It was reasonable for Mr X to raise his concerns with the court, and it remains reasonable for him to do so should proceedings still be ongoing. We will not investigate the matter instead.
8. It is not a good use of public resources for us to investigate complaint-handling alone when we are not investigating the substantive complaint. We will not investigate Mr X’s concerns about how the Council handled his complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it was reasonable for him to raise the issues as part of the court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman