Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council is failing to protect his children and has refused to deal with his complaint. The Council has agreed it will accept Mr X’s complaint and reply to it. Mr X will need to complain to it again following the conclusion of the current family court case.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council is failing to protect his children. He says the mother’s partner is a risk and should not be at the family home or left alone with the children. Mr X says he has raised concerns for two years. He says the Council’s social worker is biased in favour of the mother and is failing to do her job properly. Mr X says he is anxious and worried about the welfare of his children. He wants the Council to take effective action to protect them.
2. Mr X complains the Council has refused to deal with his complaint about its child protection actions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Mr X’s information and comments and discussed the complaint with him by telephone. I have communicated with the Council about the complaint handling.

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My assessment

5. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reason:
6. The Council is entitled not to immediately deal with a complaint where the complainant has put his concerns to a court. The Council declined to deal with Mr X’s complaint largely because a court was dealing with his application for a child arrangement order (regarding contact). This included considering the welfare of Mr X’s children and the Council’s court report. Mr X says following the Court’s decision, in late 2021, he appealed for an increase in contact and that a hearing is due.
7. The Council should deal with Mr X’s child protection complaint once the court case is concluded and it has agreed to do so. Mr X will need to complain to the Council again. If he disagrees with the outcome, or the Council delays, he can return to his office.

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Agreed action

8. The Council has agreed to deal with Mr X’s complaint about its child protection actions if he complains again once his family court case is concluded.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council is failing to protect his children and has refused to deal with his complaint. The Council has agreed it will accept Mr X’s complaint and reply to it. He will need to ask it to do so following the conclusion of the current family court case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman