Summary: Mr Y complains about the actions of the local health visiting service in relation to his young child. The Ombudsman will not investigate complaints where the matters complained about are not separable from court proceedings. Based on the information available to us, the matters Mr Y complains about appear to be related to those currently being considered at the Family Court. We have therefore ended our investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about the actions of the local Health Visiting (HV) service between February 2021 and October 2022. In particular he complains the service:
• failed to listen to his concerns and provide information when he asked about his young child on 4 February 2021, despite having parental responsibility;
• failed to involve him in HV appointments from February 2021, until he asked on 28 April 2021;
• stopped inviting him to HV appointments and held these at a location he could not attend from July 2021;
• failed to listen to his views or opinions in letters he wrote in May 2021, including his attempt to disclose the risks posed by his child’s mother;
• failed to enquire and investigate further when the child’s mother made allegations against him between 2021 and 2022;
• told the child’s mother whenever Mr Y made contact to ask about his child, and asked for her consent to disclose information despite Mr Y having parental responsibility; and
• took a biased and one-sided approach against Mr Y in HV’s notes, including making false, unfounded, and derogatory comments.
2. Mr Y says the failures contributed to the alienation of him from his child and prevented him from having contact. He also says the risks posed by the mother went unnoticed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. Before writing this draft decision, I considered the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Jurisdiction and information received from the HV service including email exchanges with Mr Y. I also considered information provided by Mr Y.
6. We made enquiries of the Council to request copies of any court papers it holds in relation to this case. The Council confirms it has none.
7. Mr Y and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Mr Y complains about various aspects of the local HV service, as outlined in paragraph one of this statement. The arrangements for contact between Mr Y and his child are subject to ongoing family court proceedings which Mr Y says will conclude in July 2024.
9. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. The law says we cannot investigate matters put before the court or matters which could reasonably have been mentioned as part of the proceedings. This is because a court decision takes precedence over the Ombudsman and any decision made by the court overrides that of the Ombudsman.
10. I have reviewed relevant email exchanges between Mr Y and the HV service. Amongst other points, these say:

“I would like invite [sic] the Health Visitor to be cross examined in Court on her inability to safeguard the Child appropriately at the final hearing”.

“Can you ensure the Health Visitor has read and is familiar with my allegations prior to the Court hearing date, as well as the audio tapes I have provided”.

“Draft judgement is in, which I cannot share at the moment, but can when finalised, and I believe will show deficiencies by the HV team by taking a one-sided approach and failing to address the major issues in this case…”

11. We asked Mr Y for a copy of the draft court judgement so that we could see what the court has already considered. This would enable us to determine if Mr Y’s complaint is about a connected matter which has already been – or could have been - raised in court. Mr Y said he could not share the judgement with the Ombudsman.
12. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened. Based on the information we have available to us, I consider it is more likely than not that Mr Y’s complaints are the same or very similar to those the family court has been asked to consider. I have therefore decided to use the Ombudsman’s discretion to discontinue our investigation into this complaint.

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Final decision

13. I have ended my investigation because the law says we can decide not to 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. Based on the information available to us, it is my view that Mr Y’s complaint to the Ombudsman is related to a closely connected matter subject to ongoing court proceedings.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman