Coventry City Council (24 005 506)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Aug 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in Miss X’s case. The complaint is about matters that were decided by a court, and we have no power to investigate or change the court’s decision.
The complaint
- Miss X complained about the Council removing her children from her care. She said the Council was wrong to assert she had neglected her children, and the matter had caused her significant distress. She wanted contact to be reinstated with her children and for them to return to her care.
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)
- We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X’s complaint is about the Council’s decision to apply to the courts for removal of her children from her care. Only the courts, not the Council or the Ombudsman, can decide to remove a child and place them into care. We have no power to change the court’s decision.
- The Council’s representations to the court as part of that process are not separable and we cannot investigate them. Miss X had the opportunity to raise any concerns about the Council’s representations as part of the court proceedings. Only the courts could decide to return the children to Miss X’s care.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is about matters that were subject to court proceedings, which the law prevents us from investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman