Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response, our involvement would not lead to a different outcome, and would not, therefore, be a good use of our limited resources.

The complaint

1. Ms M is unhappy with the Council’s response to her complaint. She complains the Council only interviewed the people she complained about. As a result, she says the Council failed to understand her situation and its response to her complaint is biased and incomplete.
2. Ms M’s children were taken into care in 2022 following a difficult period in Ms M’s life. The children were initially subjects of a child protection plan. Following another incident, the Council applied to Court for an Emergency Protection Order and then a full Care Order.
3. Ms M experienced difficulties with her mental health following the birth of her youngest child. She believes the Council failed to take account of her mental health needs and offer adequate support before removing her children. She complains the Council’s actions have caused her harm and set back her recovery.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation,
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome;
• further investigation would not be a good use of our limited resources.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

5. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 1, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms M first complained to us when the Council applied to Court for a Care Order. We explained that we could not investigate complaints about matters connected with the care proceedings.
9. Ms M has since complained to the Council and the Council has responded at all three stages of the statutory children’s complaints process. This is a formal procedure, set out in law, which councils must follow to investigate some complaints about children’s services.
10. Ms M now complains to us is about the Council’s response to her complaint.
11. Ms M complains the Council failed to take account of the impact of her mental health when considering the events she complained about. She believes the Council failed to provide adequate support before applying for a Care Order. She disagrees with the evidence the Council submitted to Court, and decisions made by the judge.
12. We would not normally reinvestigate a complaint when a Council has responded under the statutory complaints process. There has already been an independent investigation and a review by an independent panel. The Council accepted the findings and recommendations of the complaint review panel. I do not consider there is anything we could add by considering matters further.
13. In any event, we cannot investigate complaints about matters connected with the care proceedings. Our involvement would not, therefore, lead to a different outcome.
14. Ms M disagrees with the findings of the independent investigator and review panel. She made an application to Court for permission to apply for Judicial Review. Her application was refused.
15. The judge noted the independent review panel had looked at each of Ms M’s complaints in detail and given adequate reasons for its decisions. He suggested a complaint to us might be a better option.
16. Like the judge, we cannot question the panel’s judgement if there was no fault in the way it reached its decisions.
17. Ms M says her complaint to us is about the complaints process, not matters decided by the Courts during the care proceedings. I do not agree. But even if it was, we do not investigate complaints about complaint handling when we cannot also investigate the underlying issues. It is not a good use of our resources.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint because there is nothing we could add to the Council’s response, our involvement would not lead to a different outcome, and would not, therefore, be a good use of our limited resources.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman