Summary: Mr X complains about the behaviour of a family member’s social worker. We will not investigate the complaint because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the behaviour of a Council social worker allocated to a family member who had been living with him negatively impacted on him. He says the social worker defamed him, discriminated against him, bullied him, told lies and produced sub-standard and inaccurate reports. He says this has badly affected his mental health and as he could not work as a result, he has lost out on potential earnings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

3. 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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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My assessment

8. The Council made a detailed response to Mr X’s complaint and upheld the part of it which said the social worker’s behaviour and communication had been unacceptable. Both the social worker and the Council apologised for this. It also found errors and inaccuracies in some of its records. Despite investigation, it was unable to come to a view on some of Mr X’s claims and it found no evidence he had been discriminated against. An investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to add to the Council’s own investigation and findings.
9. Mr X says he has been defamed and been the subject of a data breach. Defamation is a matter for the courts and not the Ombudsman to determine and as Mr X can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office about data protection issues, this is if not a matter we will investigate.
10. Mr X says as a result of the matters he has complained about, his health was affected which prevented him from working. He seeks compensation for this but such a claim would be for the courts and not the Ombudsman to decide.
11. We cannot involve ourselves in matters relating to any disciplinary action taken against specific employees because our role is to consider action by the Council as a corporate body rather than the actions of individuals.
12. In responding to my draft decision Mr X says compensation was not a motivating factor in bringing his complaint and that nobody has admitted that a social worker’s behaviour was wrong. However, as he acknowledges, the Council did uphold a part of his complaint covering this where it had the evidence to do so. Mr X says the matters about which he complained led to the irretrievable breakdown of his family unit as the family member does not live with him anymore. However, this is not a conclusion we would be able to reach even if we investigated.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman