The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the actions of a social worker. This is because the complaint concerns matters which have been considered and determined in court.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council’s social worker has been at fault in the course of her involvement with his children.
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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr B’s children live with their mother. He has supervised contact with them. The care of and contact with the children have been the subject of proceedings in the Family Court.
Mr B’s complaint relates to the actions of the children’s social worker in the course of her involvement with the case, and what he sees as the Council’s failure to respond properly to the matters he has raised.
He contends that the social worker’s actions have been characterised by bias and unprofessionalism, and that the assessments and reports she produced misled the Court, thereby contributing to the negative outcome. He further contends that her bias led her to fail to act on child protection concerns he raised with her.
We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint about the assessments and reports completed by the social worker and presented to the Court. The law prevents the Ombudsman from considering the content or preparation of such reports. Their accuracy is not a matter for us. Neither is the motivation or professionalism of the social worker who completed them. We cannot consider whether they had the impact Mr B alleges.
All matters about which Mr B has complained are inextricably linked to the issues before the Court and the outcome of the proceedings. Mr B says his legal team did not raise some of his concerns about the Council’s actions. That does not mean the Ombudsman can or should consider them. The Court has taken a view on the care of and contact with the children. If Mr B disagrees with the current arrangements his recourse is to go back to court. There is no role for the Ombudsman.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint because it concerns matters which have been determined in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman