The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the safety of a child in the Council’s care. There have been recent court proceedings regarding the child’s care status, and the matters complained of either have been or could have been raised during those court proceedings.
The complaint
Ms X said her granddaughter was harmed after the child needed to go into care. She said the Council ignored her warnings and placed the child with boys, and the child lost her virginity. She said the Council wrongly refused her complaint because of court action.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of 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
There have been court proceedings to decide the child’s care status, with the Council seeking a care order. It is likely that the child’s safety in the Council’s care could and would have been raised during those proceedings given the Council was seeking a care order.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from those that were or could have been raised during court proceedings. For the same reason, we cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her complaint about this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman