Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint that her children should live with her ex-partner and that she did not see them for three years. That is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate matters that have been considered by the court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the decision her children should live with her ex-partner. She said she did not see them for three years. She said the Council treated her as a perpetrator of domestic abuse when in fact she was the victim. She said that affected her mental health and wellbeing. She wants the Council to apologise.

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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 Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the decision for her children to live with her ex-partner, or her contact arrangements with her children. That is because the court made that decision as part of private court proceedings. Therefore, we have no jurisdiction to investigate it.
7. We also cannot investigate what information the Council gave the court about Miss X. That is because we have no jurisdiction to investigate what happened in court.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot investigate what happens in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman