Summary: We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council was at fault in its involvement with him and his daughter. This is because the complaint concerns matters which have been considered in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council’s social worker was at fault in her involvement with him and his daughter. As a result, he has been unable to have contact with his daughter and has not had confidential information returned to him.

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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)
4. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr B has said in support of his complaint and the supporting documents he has provided. I have offered Mr B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

6. Mr B’s daughter was the subject of private law proceedings. As part of the proceedings, the court directed the Council to produce an assessment report.
7. Mr B complains that the social worker tasked to produce the report was negligent. As a result, he has been unable to have contact with his daughter since the court case. He also says he provided the social worker with confidential information, which he asked her to return. He says the social worker failed to return the information and the Council has failed to address the matter.
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint. The Council’s involvement with his daughter has been in the context of a court case and, as such, the law prevents us from considering it. The report itself and the actions of the social worker in connection with it fall outside our jurisdiction. If Mr B is unhappy with the outcome, his recourse is to go back to court.
9. As the information the Council has allegedly failed to return was provided for the purpose of the report, the Ombudsman cannot consider it. If Mr B believes the Council has misused his information, or kept it unnecessarily, he may wish to bring his concerns to the attention of the Information Commissioner.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which have been considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman