Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the circumstances in which the complainant's daughter went into the Council’s care, contact with her while she was in care, and the complainant’s allegation that the Council breached data protection regulations. This is because the complaint concerns matters which were decided in court or are closely linked to those matters, and investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council was at fault in taking her daughter into care and in failing to promote contact with her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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))
4. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The Council obtained a full care order for Mrs X’s daughter in 2020. Mrs X believes the Council was at fault in the process of taking her daughter into care. She says she was initially pressured into signing an agreement for the Council to accommodate her daughter, and that the decision to obtain the care order was based on false information.
9. Mrs X last saw her daughter in 2022 and complains that the Council has failed to promote contact. She says that, when she last saw her daughter, she understood that she wanted to maintain contact. She argues that, in failing to promote contact, the Council has breached her human right to family life.
10. Mrs X further complains that the Council has breached data protection regulations by sharing personal information with third parties.
11. In response to the complaint, the Council has said that it has respected Mrs X’s child’s wishes, who has said that she does not want contact. It points out that she is now an adult. Mrs X does not accept this, and argues that the Council has coerced her daughter into refusing contact.
12. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The decision to take her daughter into the Council’s care was made by the Court, so the law prevents us from considering it. This restriction also applies to the evidence on which the Court made its decision, including evidence provided by the Council, and the Council’s decision to take the matter to court. By law, we cannot intervene. Whether there was fault in obtaining the voluntary agreement is not relevant, as the matter was subsequently tested in court.
13. The Ombudsman will not criticise the Council for acting in accordance with Mrs X’s daughter’s wish not to have contact. It had a duty to take her wishes into account and there is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X is correct to accuse the Council of coercion.
14. Investigation of this matter would, in any case, achieve nothing significant. Mrs X’s daughter is now an adult, and it is for her to decide whether she wants contact. The Council no longer has a role. Neither is it for the Ombudsman to intervene.
15. Turning to Mrs X’s complaint that the Council has failed to protect her data, this matter could be brought to the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is better placed than the Ombudsman to consider it.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it concerns matters which have been decided in court, or are closely linked to those matters, and investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman