Cheshire East Council (20 005 970)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Dec 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s actions before and during care proceedings in court. We cannot investigate the complaint because we cannot investigate legal proceedings.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council has discriminated against him and lied about it during court proceedings regarding his child’s care. He says the Council’s actions have caused him to lose all confidence and he wants his child back home with him.
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 discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information in Mr X’s complaint.
- I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
What happened
- Mr X’s child, Y, is currently looked after by the Council. Mr X wants Y back home with him.
- In 2020 the Court granted final care and placement orders to the Council regarding Mr X’s child, Y. This meant the Court had decided adoption was the best plan for Y.
- The Council is currently pursuing adoption for Y. The Court will make the final decision about whether Y will be adopted by any prospective adopters.
- Mr Y says the Council has discriminated against him over the last two years and has lied about that in the court proceedings this year. He disagrees with what the Council said to the Court about him and his parenting abilities.
Findings
- It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have told the Court about the issues he now complains about to us while the court proceedings were taking place earlier this year.
- We cannot investigate the information provided to a Court which it relies on to make its decision. We cannot investigate the case the Council presented to the Court. We also cannot investigate the Court’s decisions.
Final decision
My view is we cannot investigate this complaint because we cannot investigate legal proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman