Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s child protection actions and social worker’s court report. We cannot lawfully investigate because a court dealt with the case. The complaint about earlier events is also late and outside the permitted 12-month period.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains for himself and Mrs X that the Council’s social worker provided a court with a report on Mrs X’s children which was biased and inaccurate. They disagree with the social worker’s assessment of Mrs X’s parenting. Mr X says the father of the children has refused them direct contact with the children. He wants the Council to apologise and help them take the case back to court. He wants the Council to provide a new unbiased court report. He wants the social worker’s professionalism and conduct investigating.

Back to top

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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered Mr X’s information, comments, and reply following my draft decision. The information held includes the Council’s reply to Mr and Mrs X’s complaint. The stage 2 reply is dated 16 September 2020.

Back to top

My assessment

7. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate what happened in court (see paragraphs 2 and 3 above). This includes the notice given for a court hearing, the social worker’s communications and reports, and opinions given to the court. The court decided in May 2020 the children should remain with their father while it dealt with the case. We cannot investigate or comment on a court’s decision. It was for the court to consider and deal with contact arrangements.
9. A complaint about the child protection assessments which took place in 2019 and early 2020, before court, is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. The complaint, made to us in January 2022, is late being outside the permitted period of 12 months (see paragraph 4). I will not exercise discretion to investigate. This is because:
1. Mr X and Mrs X could have complained sooner although I acknowledge they would not have complained for much of 2020 due to Covid-19, the court case, and the Council dealing with the complaint.
2. The court considered child protection evidence and what had happened when making its decisions on the welfare of the children. I understand the court case ended around Autumn 2020.
10. The Ombudsman cannot achieve the outcome which Mr X says he wants regarding future legal action or the content of any future court report.
11. There is no indication of Council fault in the last 12 months.

Back to top

Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s child protection actions and social worker’s court report. We cannot lawfully investigate because a court dealt with the case. The complaint about earlier events is also made outside the permitted 12-month period.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman