Shropshire Council (25 018 825)
Category : Adult care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions relating to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation to place Ms X at a care home. This is because Mrs X has already asked the Court of Protection to consider this decision. The law will not allow us to consider a complaint where court action has started.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that Shropshire Council (the Council) has unjustifiably deprived her of her liberty and prevented her from returning to her own home. She says the decisions have caused her distress and is causing her property to deteriorate.
- Ms X wants the Council to allow her to return to her property without social workers becoming involved in her affairs.
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 if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X moved to a care home in 2025 following a hospital admission under the Mental Health Act (MHA). She understood this would be for two weeks, however the Council has prevented her from leaving using DoLS.
- The Council considered it is unsafe for Ms X to return to her home in its current state and without proper support.
- The Court of Protection (CoP) deals with decision-making for adults who may lack capacity to make specific decisions for themselves. The CoP may become involved in difficult cases or cases where disagreements cannot be resolved in any other way.
- The Council advised Ms X she could challenge the DoLS decision through the CoP and explained how she could be supported to do this.
- Ms X has confirmed she has asked the CoP to consider the DoLS decision. This is a reasonable route to consider the DoLS decisions and because the courts have started to consider these concerns, we cannot investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is a matter for which court action has started and continues.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman