The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint the Council ignored her safeguarding concerns about her child. The law prevents us from investigating anything that is the subject of court proceedings. It would be reasonable to expect Miss X to raise any concerns she has in court.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council has ignored her safeguarding concerns about her child. She says she has evidence of harm caused to her child, which the Council has repeatedly ignored. She says she and her child have experienced significant distress and trauma because of the Council’s failures. She wants the Council to compensate her and her child for the distress its inaction has caused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)) 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)
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 has explained to Miss X that it cannot consider her late complaints about events that occurred in 2021 and 2022. It has also advised Miss X that ongoing court proceedings will consider matters relating to her child’s welfare. The court has asked the Council to produce a report under section 37 of the Children Act 1989 to assess Miss X’s child’s needs and whether the Council needs to act to safeguard them from harm.
The law prevents us from investigating anything that is the subject of court proceedings. This includes any involvement of the Council in those proceedings. We have no power to intervene or make decisions in place of the court. It would be reasonable to expect Miss X to raise any concerns she has about the Council’s handling or her child’s welfare in those court proceedings, either directly or through her legal representative(s).
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from becoming involved in anything that is the subject of court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman