Search doesn't work if name contains a diacritic/special character

Posting on behalf of James Wyper:

The 'Search Parent/Carer' functionality ONLY allows you to search by name and DOB, not by FAN and DOB. If the parent's first name is Zoë - and I copy and paste Zoë into the search box the ë is removed. 

Either the system should accept diacritic/special characters everywhere, or they should not be permitted anywhere.

Allowing a search for parent/carer by FAN would also be useful, as sometimes the name on an FAN account can subtly differ from what they tell you it is.