Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to the complainant’s contact with his children. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault with the actions of the Council, and further investigation is unlikely to have a worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s handling of matters relating to his contact with his children. He says the Council:

• Failed to give him correct information about a court hearing and his need to attend;
• Gave incorrect information about checks required for an assessment of his mother’s suitability to supervise of contact with the children; and
• Has not dealt properly with his complaints.

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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
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council,
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read what Mr X has told us about his complaint, together with the information provided by the Council. I also read Mr X’s comments on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. In October 2018, the Council carried out an assessment of Mr X’s mother’s suitability to supervise his contact with his children. Police checks were required for this assessment.
5. In January 2019 there was a hearing in a court action brought by Mr X’s ex-partner about contact arrangements for their children.
6. Mr X complained to the Council about the way it had dealt with these issues. He said that it had wrongly stated his mother had refused to allow it to carry out checks on her. He also said the Council had not told him about the court action and a social worker had lied to him about it.
7. The Council replied in February 2019, with its response to Mr X’s 42 complaint points. It also had a meeting with him to discuss his concerns.
8. Mr X raised his complaints again later in the year. In its replies of October 2019 and January 2020 the Council said:

• The court action was a private matter between Mr X and his ex-partner. It had no involvement with this, and it was not its role to inform him about the proceedings;
• It had considered its text messages with his mother about checks. It had already carried out an investigation and provided a clear explanation for the time taken to complete her assessment;
• There was no evidence a social worker had lied; and
• The matter of his contact with his children was now the subject of court action so it was unable to consider the issue through its complaint procedures.

Assessment

9. The Council has already carried out a detailed investigation of Mr X’s complaint and set out its responses clearly in its replies of February and October 2019 and January 2020. It also had a meeting with Mr X to discuss his concerns and its investigation. It is unlikely we would find fault by the Council in the way it responded to Mr X’s complaint.
10. Mr X has told us a social worker passed on incorrect contact details to a party involved in the court action and lied about his mother’s agreement to checks. I understand he is unhappy about the way the council has dealt with him. However, further investigation by us of these issues would not have any effect on the outcome of these proceedings or the assessment completed for his mother. It is unlikely we could add anything to the investigations the Council has already carried out, achieve a different outcome, or the outcome Mr X wants – the sacking of the social worker.

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Final decision

11. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault with the actions of the Council, and further investigation is unlikely to have a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman