Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to care arrangements for the complainant’s niece and nephew. This is because he could not add anything to the Council’s responses or provide the outcomes that the complainant seeks. He cannot investigate issues relating to the complainant’s sister or the children, as she does not have authority to complain on their behalf.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Miss C, says that the Council:
• Removed her from the list of persons who are party to care proceedings for her niece and nephew, based on the untruthful allegations of her sister (Y);
• Also put Y’s false allegations into court documents without checking their veracity, leading to Miss C only being allowed supervised contact with her niece and nephew. Miss C says the contact has now been unfairly suspended;
• Refused to place the children with her, and changed the requirements that she had to comply with when she tried to achieve them;
• Did not provide mediation, although it was requested;
• Did not answer her complaint or questions properly.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Miss C, and I have sent her a draft decision for her comments.

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What I found

6. Ms C has two sisters, Y, and Z. Z has two children but for some time, has struggled to care for them appropriately. Y took the children into her care, but although Ms C, Y and Z all want the best for the children, there have been disputes between them regarding who is the most appropriate carer for the children.
7. Ms C says that Y has influenced the Council against her.
8. She says that she was removed from the list of involved persons who are parties to care proceedings for the children, based on the untruthful word of Y.
9. The Council has told Ms C that it has not prevented her from being a party to proceedings, and that she can apply to the court for this.
10. Miss C also says that Y made false allegations about her, which were put into documents for a court hearing regarding care and contact, by the Council. She says the Council did not check the accuracy of the allegations, and that this led to her being allowed only supervised contact with her niece and nephew. She further complains that all contact has been recently suspended.
11. The Council’s response says that despite her view that inaccurate information was put into the document, her Special Guardianship assessment was positive. It also explains that all face to face contact had to be suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions.
12. In addition, Miss C complains that the Council refused to place the children with her, which she feels is unfair. She says the goalposts were moved each time she tried to comply with its requirements.
13. However, the Council has explained that although there was a positive Special Guardianship assessment, and the care plan for the children agrees that Miss C is a viable alternative to care for them, there is no reason to move them from where they are at present.
14. Miss C further complains that although she requested mediation, none was provided. However, the Council says in its response of April 2020 that mediation has now started.
15. Miss C remains dissatisfied with the Councils responses, but we will not investigate the complaint. We cannot consider issues that have formed part of court proceedings. In respect of the other issues raised, investigation by the LGSCO could not add anything further to the outcome provided by the Council.
16. Although Miss C also complains about the Council’s complaint handling, it is not an effective use of our resources for us to consider complaints about this if we are not considering the substantive issue.

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Final decision

17. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot add to the Council’s response and cannot consider anything relating to court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman