The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about information the Council shared with the Court. That is because the law says we cannot investigate matters that have formed court proceedings. We will also not investigate his complaint about a social worker. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained about information the Council shared with the Court in relation to his child, Y. He is also unhappy with Y’s social worker and information he read in Child Protection minutes. He would like the Council to change Y’s social worker.
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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide: There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(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
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about information the Council shared with the Court, or the outcome of court proceedings. That is because the law says we cannot consider matters that the court has considered. It would have been appropriate for Mr X to raise his concerns as part of court proceedings.
We will also not investigate Mr X’s dissatisfaction with Y’s social worker. The social worker has apologised for their conduct during a conversation. The Council has further apologised to Mr X for not feeling listened too or respected. That remedies any injustice caused. There is not enough evidence of fault in wider concerns Mr X has raised with the social worker to justify our involvement.
The Council has accepted it incorrectly included information in Child Protection minutes it should not have. It followed up Mr X’s concerns about this information. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The Council has explained it will not change Y’s social worker, as it would not be in Y’s best interests. That is a decision for the Council to make. Further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it relates to court action. Further investigation of the rest of his complaint will not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman