The Tynwald Commissioner for Administration has outlined her reasons for refusing to investigate a complaint made by a former foster carer.

A woman, referred to as Mrs J, challenged the actions of The Children’s Centre in removing foster children from her and her husband and then having them de-registered as approved foster parents.

She asked the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration to investigate her complaint against the Children’s Centre, as agent for the Department for Health and Social Care.

Mrs J and her husband had been approved as long-term foster parents and two children who had been placed in their care.

But when the care plan changed in regard to the contact between the children and members of their birth family, Mrs J did not agree there should be such contact, and she refused to co-operate with it.

She was also accused of refusing to allow the children’s social worker to have contact with them.

As a result of her non-compliance with the foster care agreement, the DHSC considered it necessary to remove the children.

The placement having broken down in such an acrimonious way, The Children’s Centre decided they would be unable to work with Mrs J in future and concluded she should be de-registered as a foster carer.

Mrs J alleged her human rights were infringed by the refusal to permit her to be legally represented before the foster panel that determined she should be de-registered.

Commissioner for Administration Angela Main Thompson OBE said she was laying her report to Tynwald in an ’attempt to bring closure to the case’.

The legislation states that the Commissioner cannot investigate actions where a complainant has a statutory right of appeal or review by an adjudicator, tribunal or other body.

However, if it is neither reasonable nor expedient to expect the complainant to exercise that right, an inquiry can be held.

But Mrs Main Thompson’s predecessor could find no sufficient reason for admitting the complaint.

And she concurred, saying Mrs J’s failure to co-operate prevented The Children’s Centre from being able to conduct its internal complaints procedure.

Mrs J had called for a public inquiry and for an investigation into a failure to mend a broken system.

But the Commissioner said this fell outside her remit.

She said she had declined to meet the complainant, given the time her predecessor had spent explaining his decision, and felt any attempts by her to convince Mrs J would be equally fruitless.