Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the removal of Miss C’s children from her care. This is because we cannot investigate matters which have been decided in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss C, complains that three of her children have been removed from her care.

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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. 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. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss C complains about the removal of three of her children from her care. She wants them returned to her. All three children are subject to care orders and two are subject to placement orders.
8. By law, the Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the decisions to grant the orders were made by the Court. Neither can we consider the Council’s actions. These relate to the matters decided by the Court and therefore fall outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Miss C’s complaint because it relates to decisions made in Court.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman