Central Bedfordshire Council (20 006 149)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Dec 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council was at fault in removing her children and failing to safeguard them. This is because the complaint concerns decisions made in court.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council was at fault in removing her children from her and failing to safeguard them.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 Miss B has said in support of her complaint and relevant correspondence provided by the Council. I have offered Miss B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
- Miss B’s four children have been the subject of legal proceedings. The Council brought the proceedings in the case of two of the children. The other children were subject to private proceedings.
- Miss B says that, because of the Council’s actions, she has lost care of the children and has restricted contact with them. She complains that the Council’s actions have failed to safeguard her children and have placed them at risk of abuse. She wants the Council to set out how it will keep her children safe from harm, and she wants them returned to her care.
- The Council has declined to consider Miss B’s complaint. It points out that it cannot address the outcome of the legal proceedings through the complaint procedure. It has declined to meet her to discuss the matter but has set out how she may bring new concerns to its attention, or the attention of the police. Miss B regards this as unreasonable.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint. It concerns decisions the court has made, and the law says the Ombudsman cannot consider such decisions. If Miss B wants greater contact, or her children returned to her, her recourse is to go back to court.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns decisions made in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman