Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions regarding the care of the complainant’s son. This is because the complaint relates to matters which have been considered in Court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains the Council has been at fault in its actions regarding the care of her son.

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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. Mrs B says social workers were at fault in their actions regarding the care of her son. She says they confused her family with another and gave false information in reports. She contends that the recommendation the Council made to the Court was wrong, and contributed to her losing care of her son.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint. Matters relating to her son’s care have been decided in Court and this places them outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. By law, we cannot consider what happens in a court, including the reports and evidence a council provides. This restriction extends to both the content and preparation of the reports and other evidence.
9. As we cannot consider what happened in Court, or anything related to it, we cannot express a view on whether the Council’s actions were material to the outcome. We could not therefore find that the Council’s action led to Mrs B losing care of her son.
10. Mrs B further complains that her daughter has received no support from the Council. I note that this did not form part of her initial complaint to the Council, so we have not considered it. I understand that Mrs B’s daughter is now an adult, and she may therefore choose to pursue the matter herself.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it concerns matters which have been considered in Court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman