Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the actions of the Council and one of its social workers because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating matters which have been considered in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained the actions of the Council and one of its social workers led to her child being wrongly adopted. Mrs X is unhappy with the care her child received and wants the adoption nullifying.

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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 this complaint. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have been considered in court or which could have been. This exclusion applies to closely related matters. The living arrangements for Mrs X’s child were discussed and decided in court. There was the opportunity to raise any concerns about them. These issues are therefore outside our jurisdiction. The actions of the Council’s social worker are too closely linked to the matters discussed in court and are also outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

7. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that have or could have been considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman