Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council limiting his daughter’s contact with him. Contact arrangements are a matter for a court and Mr X has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council limited his daughter’s contact with him without good reason, ruining the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s daughter residence and contact arrangements were decided by a court. Any breach of those arrangements can only be dealt with by a court. The same holds true for any variation to those arrangements.
7. The documents Mr X sent us show the Council decided his daughter should not stay with him. I appreciate there is not always time to approach a court, but that does not create jurisdiction for us to consider the matter.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot decide what a child’s contact arrangements with a parent should be or challenge the decision of a court. Only another court can do that. While approaching a court might not always be possible at short notice, that does not create jurisdiction for us to trespass on the court’s ground. It would be reasonable for Mr X to use his right to approach a court to secure the contact arrangements he may seek.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman