Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to take children into care and its subsequent contact with members of their family. This is because investigation would achieve nothing significant.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council took her nephews and niece into care and has failed to communicate properly with the family throughout its involvement with the children.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Miss B’s nephews and niece are looked-after children. Miss B complains that the Council was at fault in removing the children from the care of their family. She further complains that the Council has failed to properly communicate with the family since the children were placed in care.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because we could not achieve anything significant by doing so. Her complaint to the Council has been largely upheld and the Council has apologised, so there is no basis for us to intervene. Even if we were to do so, we could not consider the decisions to place the children in care. They were made by a court and, by law, we cannot consider a court’s decision.

Back to top

Final decision

7. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because investigation would achieve nothing significant.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman