The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s section 7 report for court. The law prevents us from investigating what happened in court, which includes the content of the Council’s report.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the Council’s section 7 report for court. She raises several concerns about the social worker’s conduct, for example they were unprepared, uninterested and biased. Miss X says the matter has caused her significant distress and impacted the court proceedings. She wants the Council to apologise and support her to present her version of events in court.
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 have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X’s complaint is about the content of the Council’s section 7 report. This is a court-ordered report, to assist the judge in making decisions about what is best for the children’s welfare.
The law prevents us from investigating what happened in court, which includes the content of reports a council submits as part of proceedings. Miss X’s concerns about the social worker’s alleged conduct are all too intertwined with the report itself, because the consequence of those matters would be the resulting report the social worker completed. It is reasonable for Miss X to raise these concerns as part of the proceedings. We have no power to change the court’s decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is about the substance of the Council’s court report, and the social worker’s actions while gathering information for that report.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman