Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint about the procedure followed when the complainant’s child temporarily taken into care. This is because the care decision was made by a court, and any matters relating to that decision are therefore out of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs U, says that the Council did not follow proper procedures when her child was temporarily taken into care in 2015, and that the time spent in care has had a lasting negative effect on the child.

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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 the information provided by Mrs U and by the Council. I have also sent Mrs U an initial view for her comments.

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What I found

5. Mrs U has a child, who was temporarily taken into care in 2015. Mrs U says that the Council did not follow proper procedures, and that this resulted in the care decision. She further says that the events have had a lasting and negative effect on her child.
6. The Ombudsman is unable to investigate this complaint. This is because the issue went to court, where the care decision was made. Although Mrs U is complaining about the quality of the Council's work before it went to court, rather than the decision itself, the law says that we cannot consider matters that are connected with court proceedings. It was up to the court to consider the Council's case, and to reconsider it when the decision was taken to allow Mrs U’s son to come back to her. This puts the matter out of our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

7. I cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it relates to a matter that was considered in court proceedings, and is out of jurisdiction.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman