Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her child’s case. The law prevents us from investigating anything that has been or is the subject of court proceedings.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council misled her about support and is now pushing for her child to be adopted. She is concerned the Council has allowed unsupervised contact between her child and family members. She believes the Council has ignored her parental rights and she has not had the chance to give her evidence in court.

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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 the complainant and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

5. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from becoming involved in matters that relate to court proceedings. Any concerns Miss X might have about the Council or the court proceedings should be raised with the court directly or through legal representative(s). We have no power to intervene or make decisions in place of the court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman