Blackburn with Darwen Council (20 005 603)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Dec 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint about the Council’s actions and decisions regarding the care of his grandson. This is because the complaint concerns matters which have been decided in court.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr C, complains that the Council has been at fault in its actions and decisions regarding the care of his grandson.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr C has said in support of his complaint and relevant correspondence provided by the Council. I have offered Mr C the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
- Mr C’s grandson was previously in Mr C’s care. He is now in the Council’s care with a full care order.
- Mr C complains about the decision to remove the child from his care. He contends that the Council gave false evidence to the court and unreasonably used his medical condition and his son’s autism against them. He contends that the Council’s actions were unlawful, and that they had a negative impact on the outcome of the court case. He also complains about the way the Council responded to his complaint.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr C’s complaint because it relates to matters which were decided in court. Care arrangements for Mr C’s grandson were a decision for the court, not the Council. The law prevents the Ombudsman from considering what happens in court. That includes the evidence the Council presented. These matters fall outside our jurisdiction and we cannot intervene.
- The courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. This means we cannot consider how the Council made its decisions or how it has handled Mr C’s complaint.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters decided in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman