Birmingham City Council (23 006 198)
Category : Children's care services > Friends and family carers
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions concerning where Ms X’s child should live. Where the child should live has been subject to court action and we cannot consider that. Ms X also has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use while her child remains under 18.
The complaint
- Ms X said the Council does not work in a transparent way. She said it had lied and acted in a way that prevented her daughter returning to her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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))
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Where Ms X’s child lives has been and will remain subject to court approval until the child turns 18 in the near future. Once children are 18 and have mental capacity, where they live is a matter for them. For other adults, a court may decide.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from matters decided by a court that we cannot investigate. While her child remains under 18, only a court could make a different decision and it would be reasonable for Ms X to use her right to go to court to challenge her child’s current residence arrangements.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman