Hartlepool Borough Council (19 013 315)
Category : Children's care services > Child protection
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about a social worker’s reports. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because the matter is inextricably linked to recent court proceedings. The law prevents the Ombudsman from considering matters that have been, or could reasonably be expected to have been, considered in court.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Miss X, complains about a social worker’s reports about her and her children.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information Miss X provided. I also considered the complaint correspondence which we requested from the Council. I sent Miss X a draft copy of my decision and considered her comments in response.
What I found
- Miss X complains about the content of a social worker’s reports. Miss X says the Council asked the court to remove her children from her care because she cannot meet their needs.
- Miss X says she previously trusted her social worker so she did not read the reports. She only started to read them when it became clear there may be court proceedings. Miss X says she then found the reports were based on lies.
- Miss X complained to the Council. The Council declined to consider Miss X’s complaint because it was intrinsically linked to the ongoing court proceedings. It said it was reasonable to expect Miss X to raise her concerns about the social worker’s reports during these proceedings, prior to the judge reaching a decision.
- In response to my draft decision, Miss X informed me her children have now been removed from her care.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction as the law prevents us from considering matters that have been considered in court proceedings. We have no discretion to do so. This restriction also applies to reports that are considered in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman