Summary: The Ombudsman has no power to investigate Ms M’s complaint about where her daughter lives and what contact she has with her. These are the decisions of a court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms M, complains that her daughter lives with the child’s grandmother. She does not believe that the grandmother is a suitable carer and she is unhappy with the current contact arrangements.

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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 have spoken with Ms M about her complaint.

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What I found

5. When Ms M had an episode of ill-health, she arranged with her mother to look after her daughter who has lived with her ever since. This arrangement was a private one but, since then, the grandmother has applied for court for a Residency Order and has since restricted contact with her. Ms M says that the Council has allowed this to happen. Ms M has applied to court for better contact arrangements.
6. The Ombudsman cannot consider this complaint because it is essentially about the actions of a court. Only the court can vary the order about where Ms M’s daughter lives and what contact she has.
7. Ms M also has concerns about the way the Council has responded to referrals about her other children. This is being considered by the Ombudsman as a separate complaint.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman has no power to investigate Ms M’s concerns about where her daughter lives and what contact she has with her.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman