Summary: Ms X complains about the behaviour of a Council officer towards her. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says her daughter’s social worker is targeting her and making her out to be a bad mother. She says the social worker is biased against her and racist and that her treatment towards her has caused Ms X to suffer ill health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X, including the Council’s response to her complaint. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

4. In June 2020, the social worker for Ms X’s daughter telephoned Ms X. The social worker, who I shall refer to as Ms Q, called because an anonymous call had been received about a fight or row between Ms X and her daughter outside Ms X’s home.
5. Ms Q could not reveal the identity of the person who had reported the row but the purpose of her call to Ms X was to check if there were any safety or safeguarding concerns in relation to her daughter.
6. Unhappy with the contact and the content of the call, Ms X complained to the Council about Ms Q alleging Ms Q had accused her of being in a fight, that Ms Q was biased and racist towards her and that Ms Q had said Ms X had threatened her before putting the phone down on her.
7. The Council investigated the complaint and interviewed Ms Q and her line manager. However, it did not uphold the complaint. It found no evidence to suggest Ms Q had acted in the manner complained about by Ms X.

Assessment

8. The Council’s response to Ms X’s complaint explained why Ms Q had contacted Ms X and its view that she had acted appropriately in line with her role as Ms X’s daughter’s social worker.
9. While I understand Ms X was upset by the contact, I have seen no evidence to suggest there was fault in how the social worker undertook her role. The Council spoke to Ms Q and her line manager and while Ms X may believe her version of events is the accurate one, we would not be able to come to a conclusion in the face of two opposing accounts.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman