Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the actions of the Council in relation to its involvement with the complainant’s family. This is because the issues complained of relate to court proceedings and are therefore out of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr N, says that a social worker for the Council:
• Provided an inaccurate report for the courts;
• Told lies about Mr N in court;
• Made untrue allegations in court about Mr N’s relationship with his children’s school;
• Coerced his ex-partner into making a complaint about him; and
• Limited his contact with his children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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

4. I considered the information provided by Mr N and by the Council. I have also sent Mr N an initial view and a draft decision for his comments.

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What I found

5. Mr N’s children have been subject to care proceedings, and are now Looked After. Mr N is unhappy about the process that took place, as he feels the social worker involved produced an inaccurate report which presented him unfavourably, and did not tell the truth about him in court.
6. As a result, Mr N’s children are in care, and his application to have unsupervised contact was refused.
7. Mr N has complained to the LGSCO, but we cannot investigate his complaint. This is because the issues he raises are related to court proceedings. Although some of the actions of the social worker that Mr N complains about were not specifically addressed in court, they were undertaken in the course of preparing for the court proceedings. The alleged injustice that flows from them is therefore the court decisions, and all the actions are consequently out of our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

8. Subject to any comments Mr N might make, my view is we cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the issues have formed part of court proceedings and are out of our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman