Thurrock Council (21 015 876)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 31 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement with the complainant’s family. This is because the complaint is about matters considered and decided in court. It is therefore outside our jurisdiction. The actions of the Council’s staff cannot be separated from matters we have no jurisdiction to consider.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the involvement of the Council’s children’s services team with her family. Miss X says her first child was taken into care, which impacted her second pregnancy and her partner’s health. Miss X’s second child was also taken into care. Both children were eventually returned to Miss X. She says the Council’s staff lied in court. The Council has said it will not consider a complaint from Miss X because it relates to matters decided in court.
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)
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 Ombudsman cannot consider matters which have been discussed in court. Such matters are outside our jurisdiction. Miss X was represented in the legal proceedings and the court decided the living arrangements for her children. The actions of the Council’s officers are inextricably linked to court action and so we cannot consider them. Miss X’s complaint is not therefore one we can consider.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot consider complaints about what happened in court. The actions of the Council’s officers cannot be separated from matters which are outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman