Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s treatment of Mr X in its response to the safeguarding concerns he raised about the care of his children. The matters complained of are not separable from matters concerning who is best placed to care for and have contact with the children. These matters have been or could reasonably have been raised during court action.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council has placed his children at risk, dismissed his concerns, discriminated against him and failed to build a full picture or to carry out an adequate assessment of his family’s dynamics. He said there has been a lack of transparency and fairness and there have been instances of professional negligence.

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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 cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
6. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

9. Mr X’s complaint to the Council and its response show the Council carried out a s.37 assessment of Mr X’s family for the family court. He also stated in his complaint that a social worker lied in court and that court costs had exceeded a named sum. The issues raised in his complaint related to contact with his children and their potential lack of safety in their mother’s care, as well as alleged parental alienation.
10. The statutory bar that prevents us investigating matters that have been raised in court or could have been raised is wide and permanent. It includes reports for a court as well as the opinions formed by social workers and the way they formed them. It is not relevant which party initiated court action. And it does not allow us to make an exception where one party says the other party has harmed children. We are therefore unable to investigate Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because:

• The matters he complains of are closely related to matters that either formed part of court action or could reasonably have done so; and
• Mr X also has a right to return to court it would be reasonable to use to seek different contact or residence arrangements for the children.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman