Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s report to court and refusal to consider Miss X’s complaint. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been raised in court. We also will not consider matters we decide should have been raised in court, or complaints processes in isolation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s report to court relating to her child. She says the Council was biased towards the child’s other parent and failed to tell the court about matters she raised. She says the Council’s recommendation and the court’s resulting decision were therefore wrong, leading to her only having supervised contact with her child.
2. Miss X also complained the Council refused to deal with her complaint, both while court proceedings were ongoing and after they had finished. She says the Council misled her about what issues it would consider after proceedings finished, which meant she lost the opportunity to raise those issues in court.
3. Miss X says the matter has caused her significant distress and has had a negative impact on her family. She wants the Council to respond properly to her complaint, apologise and pay her a financial remedy.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)
6. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
7. 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))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

10. Miss X’s substantive complaint is about the Council’s report to court as part of private proceedings. The law says we cannot investigate what happened in court, which includes the content of councils’ reports written for court proceedings.
11. Miss X’s concerns about the social workers’ alleged bias and omission of information she provided are all matters that are inextricably linked to the court proceedings. The consequence of these matters was the court’s decision. It is the court, not the Council or the Ombudsman, that decides where the child should live and what contact they should have with their parents. We do not have the power to change that decision.
12. The Council told Miss X she should raise all concerns with her solicitor, with a view to raising them in court. Miss X had the opportunity to raise all matters that were relevant to those proceedings. We will not investigate matters that we decide could have been raised in court, even when they were not actually raised.
13. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. We will not therefore investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council refused to consider her complaint and misled her as to what it would consider after proceedings.

Back to top

Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is about matters that either have been considered by the courts or could reasonably have been raised in court.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman