Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in respect of the care of a child. This is because the substantive matters have been decided in court, or are closely related to those matters.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I will refer to as Ms X and Mrs Y, complain that the Council has failed to act in the interests of Ms X’s daughter, both in terms of her care and her contact with her family.

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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. 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)
3. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Ms X and Mrs Y are the mother and aunt of a child, who I will refer to as Z. The evidence shows that Z was made the subject of a Special Guardianship Order in 2017. Since 2020, Z has resided with the special guardian’s daughter, with the agreement of the Council. Ms X and Mrs Y have obtained court orders setting out contact arrangements.
8. Ms X and Mrs Y complain that the Council has failed to act on their concerns about the care Z received from the special guardian, which they say were subsequently proved to be correct. They also say the Council failed to properly assess the special guardian’s daughter, leading to a flawed decision to support leaving Z in her care.
9. In addition to their concerns about Z’s care, Ms X and Mrs Y complain that the Council has failed to ensure that arrangements for her to have contact with them and other family members have been implemented and maintained.
10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The evidence shows that Z’s placements have been considered in court, and the courts have taken a view on them. The law prevents the Ombudsman from investigating a court’s decisions. This restriction also applies to the evidence the Council gave in court, including reports on the suitability of Z’s placements, the content of which falls outside our jurisdiction.
11. The suitability of Z’s placements has been tested in court. While the Council’s actions were not themselves scrutinised by the courts, the concerns expressed by Ms X and Mrs Y about Z’s care while in the placements cannot be separated from the matters the courts decided. There are therefore no grounds for us to consider them.
12. The arrangements for contact with Z have been determined in court. If Ms X and Mrs Y believe the Council, or any other party, is not abiding by the court’s orders their recourse is to ask the court to enforce them. There is no role for the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X and Mrs Y’s complaint because it relates to matters which have been considered in court or are closely related to those matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman