Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to the care of the complainant’s children. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The decisions to remove the children were taken by the courts, and the matter is therefore not in our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Miss B, complains that the Council provided false and misleading information about her and her partner to the courts. She says this resulted in her children being removed from her care. Her desired outcome is for the children to be returned to her.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss B and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it relates to matters that were considered by the courts, and are out of our jurisdiction. We have no power to achieve her desired outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman