Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in connection with children safeguarding reports. This is because we are prohibited from considering matters connected to ongoing court action.

The complaint

1. In short, Mr X complains how the Council has handled safeguarding matters relating to his children. He says his key concerns have not been considered and or reflected in the Council’s reports.

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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.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X is unhappy with the actions of the Council in relation to his children’s welfare. He raises issues in connection with staff meeting his children at their school without his consent, staff encouraging secrecy in those conversations, the Council not reviewing evidence he provided, key safeguarding concerns not being reflected in reports and so on.
7. The Council has advised Mr X that it cannot address his complaint due to the ongoing court proceedings.

8. We cannot investigate. This is because, as the courts are considering matters that are the same as or in connection with the matters raised to us, we are prohibited from considering any aspect of the complaint. This includes safeguarding decisions, evaluation of evidence, reports prepared for court, decisions about risk, involvement, or case closure, and any professional practice directly linked to matters before the court.
9. We note Mr X has also raised concerns about how the Council handled his complaint. We cannot look at the complaint-handling issue in isolation of the underlying matters. This is because the issues cannot be meaningfully separated from the core safeguarding matters. Any investigation would require us to consider evidence and decisions before the court.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s concerns as these are related to ongoing court action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman