Summary: We cannot investigate most of Mrs X’s complaint about a court report and safeguarding concerns because the issues were before a court, and the law says we cannot investigate. We will not investigate the Council’s complaints handling because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s section 7 report for court including the process by which it was made. Mrs X also complained about the Council’s handling of her complaint. Miss X said the matter caused her distress and uncertainty.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Court report

7. As part of private law proceedings involving children, a court may ask the Council to produce a section 7 report. The court will then consider the report as part of its decision making. Because the section 7 report forms part of court proceedings, we have no jurisdiction to investigate its preparation or content.
8. Consequently, we cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the section 7 report, inaccuracies in the report, or safeguarding action relating to the issues contained in the report because the law says we cannot.

Complaint handling

9. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we decide not to investigate the substantive issue. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate most of Mrs X’s complaint because the matter was before a court, and the law says we cannot investigate. We will not investigate complaints handling because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman