Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to remove her children 30 years ago and the new evidence she says is now available. This is because the decision to remove Mrs X’s children was made by a court and the law says we cannot investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council removed her children from her care approximately 30 years ago. Mrs X said she recently became aware of additional evidence which she said vindicates her from the allegations.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

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. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The decision to remove her children from her care was made by a court. The court considered the evidence available at the time.
8. Consequently, the law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because a court considered the primary issue and the law says we cannot investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman