Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s decisions relating to Ms X’s access to her grandchildren. This is because the matter is subject of court proceedings and the law does not allow us to investigate.

The complaint

1. Ms X was unhappy the Council restricted access to allow her contact with her grandchildren. The Council said it could not comment on her complaint because there are current court proceedings connected to this same matter.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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Final decision

5. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matter is subject of court proceedings and the law does not allow us to investigate where there are matters which a court will consider.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman