The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the actions of the social worker allocated to his children’s case. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint whilst the case remains subject to ongoing court proceedings.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the actions of the social worker allocated to his children’s case. Mr X says the social worker has consistently acted in an unprofessional and negligent way which is harmful to his children.
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 social worker allocated to his children’s case as set out in paragraph 1, above.
The Council has told Mr X it will not consider his complaint now, because the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings. It told Mr X he can resubmit his complaint for consideration once all the proceedings have concluded, to see whether there are any matters, not considered in court, which it can consider via its complaints procedure. It also confirmed it had shared Mr X’s concerns with the relevant team.
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 court proceedings. This is a decision the Council is entitled to make and it is made in line with the statutory guidance to local authority children’s services on the handling of complaints where there are ongoing proceedings.
The law prevents us from considering complaints about matters that are being, or have been, subject to court proceedings or which could have been raised during court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so.
Final decision
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 the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman