Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the decision that her great nephew, Y, be placed for adoption with third parties. The law says we cannot investigate complaints about matters that have been considered in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the court’s decision to place Y for adoption with third parties rather than with her. She believes the adoption is illegal; her human rights have been breached and the adoption was forced by the Council. She initially had a positive assessment to be a foster carer for him but a further assessment contained lies and was negative. She says the Council used Y’s connection with the potential adoptive family against her in the final hearing.

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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.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X complained to the Council about the matters set out in paragraph one, above.
7. The Council told Miss X it could not consider her complaint as the concerns raised were considered in the court proceedings. It explained it could not change the court’s decision.
8. We cannot investigate this complaint. It is made in relation to matters that have been subject to, and decided in, court proceedings. The law says we cannot investigate complaints about such matters. Decisions about Y’s adoption have been made by the court. We cannot consider or question the court’s decision. Any appeal against the court’s decision would need to be made to the court. The outcomes Miss X seeks in her complaint would only be achievable if the court made changes to its decision and are not achievable via a complaint to this office.
9. The Independent Review Mechanism considered Miss X’s appeal about the Council’s decision not to approve her as a foster carer for Y in 2024. Any dissatisfaction with the IRM’s decision would be considered by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It is not a matter we can consider.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is about matters decided in court proceedings and the law says we have no discretion to consider it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman