The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint about a social worker until ongoing court proceedings have concluded. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint about his daughter’s social worker whilst there are ongoing care proceedings.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 complained to the Council about the actions of his daughter’s social worker in relation to ongoing care proceedings.
The Council told Mr X it would not consider his complaint whilst there were ongoing court proceedings. It advised Mr X he could resubmit his complaint to the Council once the proceedings have concluded. It will then be able to consider any matters not raised or considered during the court proceedings via its complaints procedure.
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint whilst there are ongoing proceedings. This is to ensure that the proceedings, which must take precedence, are not compromised by any concurrent complaint investigation. This approach is in line with the statutory guidance for local authorities on the handling of complaints where there are ongoing proceedings. Mr X can resubmit his complaint to the Council once the proceedings have concluded.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council in its decision not to consider Mr X’s complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman