The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of concerns he has raised in relation to his daughter over the past year. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint until the ongoing court proceedings have concluded.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s Children’s Services handling of, and response to, concerns he has raised in relation to his daughter between April 2024 and April 2025.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council told Mr X it will not consider his complaint whilst there are ongoing Family Court proceedings. It explained that once the proceedings have concluded, he can resubmit his complaint for consideration of any matters which were not, and could not have been, considered by the court during the proceedings.
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings on related matters. It is a decision the Council has discretion to make, in line with the statutory guidance to local authority children’s services on the handling of complaints where there are ongoing proceedings, including court proceedings. This is to ensure the proceedings, which must take precedence over a complaint investigation, are not at any risk of being prejudiced by a concurrent investigation.
As set out in the Council’s response, it will be open to Mr X to resubmit his complaint once the proceedings have concluded. Any concerns which could be considered as part of the proceedings should be raised during the proceedings so that the judge can consider them before a decision is reached.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to investigate his complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman