The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council assessed Mrs X as not suitable to supervise family contact between her nephew and his children. That is because the matters she complains of have been considered by the Court and we have no jurisdiction to investigate.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision that she was not suitable to supervise family contact between her nephew, Mr Y and his children. She said the Council had told the Court she was “not trustworthy” which was defamation of her character.
Mrs X also complained about how the Council dealt with her complaint. She said it initially told her it would investigate through a three-stage procedure but it only considered at two. She also said the Council changed her stage-two statement of complaint and delayed in investigating once court proceedings had finished.
Mrs X said the Council’s actions had caused her distress. She wants the Council to accept its complaint decision was biased; ensure staff are accountable for their actions and apologise for saying she was untrustworthy.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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) The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by a council concerning a matter which is outside our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X supervised contact between Mr Y and his children as part of child protection arrangements. In September 2020, the Council started care proceedings for Mr Y’s children. As part of those proceedings, the Court asked the Council to assess Mrs X’s suitability to supervise family contact. Mrs X did not agree to the Council completing checks with her GP and Police as part of the assessment. The Council subsequently decided she was not suitable to supervise family contact.
As the Court considered the Council’s assessment as part of care proceedings, we cannot investigate this complaint further. Nor, can we consider any statements or information the Council gave to the Court. That is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate matters that have been considered by the Court. If Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s assessment, then she would have needed to challenge that at court.
Mrs X also complained about the Council’s handling of her complaint. 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. As we cannot consider the Council’s assessment of Mrs X, we will not investigate her complaint about the Council’s handling of her complaint.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is outside of our jurisdiction. That is because the matters that Mrs X complains of have been considered by the Court as part of care proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman