The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that a social worker lied in court and about an assessment compiled during legal proceedings. This is because we cannot investigate matters that have been subject to court proceedings. We will not investigate the conduct of a social worker in 2021, because this matter happened too long ago, and I see no reason why it could not have been raised sooner.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complains that a Council social worker lied in court proceedings about the care of her son, and about the contents of a psychology report produced for these proceedings. She also complains about the actions of a previous social worker when they visited Mrs X’s children in March 2021.
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) We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I cannot investigate what the Council’s social worker said in court or the contents of the psychology assessment. This is because both issues formed part of court proceedings, and therefore fall outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the actions of a different social worker when they visited Mrs X’s children in March 2021. This is because these events happened more than 12 months ago and I see no reason why Mrs X could not have complained about this sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot investigate matters that have been subject to court proceedings and other elements are late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman