The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council prepared a Section 7 report. This is because the matter has either been considered in court or could reasonably be raised in court.
The complaint
Mrs X complained a social worker included untrue information about her in a court report. She said this may have negatively impacted her case.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X complained the Council failed to correct an untrue statement about her in her records and so a social worker included it in a Section 7 report, which the courts considered.
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. A Section 7 report is produced at the request of a court and for use in court. The law prevents the Ombudsman from considering complaints about matters already discussed in court or which could reasonably be raised in court during the proceedings. We cannot consider complaints about the preparation, collation, and analysis of evidence for court proceedings. This includes reports written by social workers or the evidence given in court.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot consider complaints about matters that were discussed or could be discussed in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman