The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the suitability the care provided to Mr X’s daughter whilst she was a looked after child. This is because the substantive matter was dealt with at court.
The complaint
Mr X says the Council placed his daughter in an unsuitable care home when she was a looked after child. Mr X says the Council lied to the court about the care being “nurse led”. Mr X says he did not discover the status of the placement until after court had ended.
Mr X says the social worker harassed him and the Council’s response to his complaint was delayed.
Mr X wants the Council to investigate his complaint and the conduct of the social worker.
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
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 X says he did not find out that his daughter’s placement was not “nurse led” until after court proceedings had finished. However, the substantive matter of the placement was considered at court and the court approved the placement. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint about matters considered in court. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint. Mr X could return the matter to court if he believes the court was misled.
Mr X says the Council’s response to his complaint was delayed. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Mr X did not complain about the conduct of the social worker until recently. The Council has not yet responded to his complaint about this. As the Council has not yet responded, we will not consider this complaint. If Mr X is concerned about the conduct of a social worker, he can approach Social Work England.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the substantive issue was dealt with by the court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman