Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council’s children services and social workers. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms A complained about the actions of the Council’s children’s services and actions of social workers

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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 may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
8. Ms A has had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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My assessment

9. Ms A complained to the Council in May 2020. Her complaint included complaints about the Council and social workers’ actions and how personal information was shared. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
10. At the stage three panel in October 2021 the Council considered Ms A’s complaints. The panel was satisfied the Independent Investigating Officer had considered the case records in their investigation. Ms A had an opportunity to present her case to the panel. The panel agreed with the overall outcomes of the stage two investigation. It did not uphold Ms A’s complaint.
11. If a council has investigated something under the statutory children’s complaint process, the Ombudsman would not normally re-investigate it unless we consider the investigation was flawed. In this case there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making process.
12. Part of Ms A’s complaint is about a report which formed part of court proceedings. We cannot investigate complaints about the content of court proceedings.
13. The Information Commissioner deals with complaints about data protection. If Ms A believes the Council has shared her personal information with someone without her consent, she can complain to the Information Commissioner. It is reasonable to expect her to do so because the Information Commissioner’s office is the body with the appropriate powers and expertise to consider the issue.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms A’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision not to uphold Ms A’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman