The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council has refused to investigate her complaint about her son being taken into care, her involvement in decisions about his life, and her current relationship with her son. We cannot achieve what Ms X wants. Her son is now an adult who can decide his contacts with his mother. We cannot investigate a court’s decision that her son should live in care.
The complaint
Complaint 1: Ms X complains the Council will not deal with her complaint about the actions which resulted in her son, Y, being taken into care. Ms X says the Council told lies and there was no need for her son to be raised in care. She says the Council should allow the truth to be told. Ms X says the Council treated her unfairly and should pay compensation for its failings.
Complaint 2: Ms X complains the Council did not properly include her in decisions about her son, Y, when he was growing up in care. She was not included in meetings such as looked after child reviews.
Complaint 3: Ms X complains the Council’s decisions harmed her relationship with her son. She says the Council has not explained to Y the seriousness of her communication issues. She says the Council should help improve her relationship and contact with Y.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) 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) 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) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I have considered Ms X’s information and comments. The information includes the Council’s letter dated 10 January 2022 explaining its position. I have considered our previous decisions on Ms X’s complaints: 16/9/19 (reference 19 000 866) and 1 May 2020 (reference 19 020 365).
My assessment
I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons: Complaint 1: The Ombudsman cannot achieve what Ms X wants – Our September 2019 final decision statement says the Council does not have to investigate a complaint about matters which are more than 12 months old. The Council has recently confirmed that it will not accept a complaint about the history of the case saying it has explained its view.
The Ombudsman cannot lawfully investigate the decision to take Ms X’s son, Y, into care because the decision was taken by a court (see paragraphs 5 and 6). This restriction also means we cannot investigate the Council’s recommendations and evidence to court.
Ms X had a legal remedy if she wanted to dispute the Council’s care plan for her son, Y. Ms X could have applied to court to have her son returned to her. A complaint about whether Y should have lived with Ms X is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction (see paragraph 8). It would have been reasonable for Ms X to use her legal remedy because the court has the power to cancel the care order. If Ms X went to court we would be legally barred from investigating.
Complaint 2: It would not be a good use of limited public resources to investigate this complaint and there is insufficient evidence of fault. Our 2019 decision includes information about Ms X’s communications with the Council including the handling of looked after child (LAC) reviews. A LAC review is primarily for the benefit of the child. A Council may exclude a parent from attending and may arrange a contribution in a different way.
Complaint 3: We cannot achieve what Ms X wants regarding contact with her son. The Council says Y is now an adult and no longer legally in care. He makes decisions on contact and currently prefers to communicate with his mother via email.
Final decision
The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council has refused to investigate her complaint about her son being taken into care, her involvement in decisions about his life, and her current relationship with her son. We cannot achieve what Ms X wants. Her son is now an adult who can decide his contacts with his mother. We cannot investigate a court’s decision that her son should live in care.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman