Summary: Ms X complained the Council accused her of impersonating a social worker to find out information, including in a report which will be used as part of private court proceedings. We cannot investigate this complaint, because we cannot investigate the content of reports which are before the courts.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council having accused her of impersonating a social worker to obtain information about her child, who lives with their father. The Council included this in a report and has not removed it despite Ms X providing it with evidence the social worker had made the telephone call.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered the information Ms X provided when she complained.
4. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on a draft version of my decision.

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What I found

5. Ms X’s child lives with their father. Ms X says the child’s father has recently prevented Ms X having contact with her child due to information the Council’s social care department included in an assessment. This included the Council alleging that Ms X had made a telephone call pretending to be a social worker, in order to obtain information about her child.
6. Ms X has provided evidence to the Council relating to her conversations with the social worker which she says prove it was actually the social worker who had made the telephone call in question. She says the Council has refused to amend its report.
7. Ms X has filed an application to court to seek an order allowing her access to her child. The social care report forms part of the evidence being presented to the court. Ms X worries that without the information being corrected, her chances of success are at risk. We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in court, and this includes the content of reports that are used in court proceedings.
8. Ms X should present her evidence to the court, as it is now for the court to make a decision based on all the evidence available to it. We cannot interfere with court decisions, and we do not have the same powers as the court to make decisions about a child’s residence and contact with their parents.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it relates to the content of a report which forms part of the evidence being presented in ongoing private proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman