The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the adoption of the complainant’s son. This is because the matter has been decided in court.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains that the Council has been at fault in the process leading to her son being made subject to an adoption order, and that decision to make the order was flawed.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by a council concerning a matter which is outside our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms B’s son has been made subject to a final adoption order. Mrs B wants the decision to be reviewed. She argues that her circumstances were not properly considered.
Ms B also complains that social workers were at fault in the process leading to make the adoption order.
The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint because it concerns a decision made in court. By law, such matters fall outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and we cannot investigate them. The actions of social workers are not separable from the matter the Court decided and we will not consider them.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Ms B’s complaint because it concerns a matter which has been decided in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman