Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of a child protection investigation. This is because the matters which are the subject of the complaint have been mentioned in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council’s social worker was at fault in the course of child protection action relating to his family. He contends that the Council’s actions have breached his human rights and have had a negative impact on the lives of his children and himself.

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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 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))
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s family became the subject of child protection action following a referral the Council received relating to his daughter. An investigation was carried out under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989. Mr X contends that the Council’s lead social worker acted with a preconceived view of the allegation against him, and the process was not carried out in the best interests of the family.
8. The evidence Mr X has provided shows that, following the allegation, his daughter was voluntarily accommodated by the Council. The Council then initiated public law proceedings to obtain care and supervision orders. The Council subsequently withdrew from the proceedings.
9. Mr X says the Judge’s findings were highly critical of the social worker’s actions. Following the publication of the findings, Mr X complained to the Council. The complaint was considered under the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services and was upheld in part.
10. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The information he has provided demonstrates that the social worker’s actions have been considered in court, and the Judge has commented on them directly.
11. The matters Mr X has raised to us have either been aired in court, or are not separable from those matters. It is therefore not appropriate for us to investigate, with reference to the law referred at paragraph 3.
12. For completeness, the Council’s decision to start court action is outside of our jurisdiction and we have no discretion to investigate this.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it concerns matters which have been mentioned in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman