Bristol City Council (19 005 862)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the care arrangements for her children. This is because they were decided by a court and are therefore outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
The complaint
- Miss X complains her children were placed in the care of their father because of false allegations made by council staff. Miss X says the father of her children is not allowing her to have contact as directed by the court.
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 about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
- We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- 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.
What I found
- Miss X says her children were placed in the custody of their father because of false allegations made by council staff. She says the father of her children is not allowing her to have contact with her children as directed by the court.
- I understand how distressing the situation must be for Miss X. But any decisions taken by a court are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. If Miss X had concerns about allegations made by the Council, then she should have raised them in court. If Miss X feels the father of her children is not following an order made by the court, then she needs to raise this with the court. It can then enforce the order. The Ombudsman has no powers to become involved in such matters. An investigation is not therefore appropriate.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman