City Of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (19 002 971)

Category : Children's care services > Child protection

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 11 Jul 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s late complaint about care proceedings initiated by the Council. This is because the issue has been considered in court. The complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and we have no discretion to consider it.

The complaint

  1. Miss X complains about the Council’s involvement with her family. The Council initiated care proceedings in respect of Miss X’s daughter. The court granted an Interim Care Order in July 2016. The Council withdrew its proceedings at the end of 2016.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
  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

  1. I considered Miss X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Miss X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

  1. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. I see no reason Miss X could not have complained much earlier. The exception at paragraph 3 therefore applies to her complaint.
  2. But even if Miss X’s complaint was not late, it is not one we could consider. The Local Government Act makes it clear we cannot consider matters which have been considered in court. This includes the actions of council staff directly linked to court proceedings. The exception at paragraph 4 applies to Miss X’s complaint. It is not one the Ombudsman can consider.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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