Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s engagement with the complainant in relation to his daughter’s care. This is because we could not achieve anything significant by doing so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council has been at fault in its engagement with him in relation to his daughter’s care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr B’s daughter is regarded by the Council as a Child in Need and is also the subject of private law proceedings. Mr B complains that the Council has been at fault in how it has engaged with him. He believes the information the Council has on its files is untrue and unfair. He is also unhappy with the content of a Section 7 report the Council produced for the Court. He wants the social workers removed from the case.
6. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is nothing significant to be gained by doing so. We cannot investigate matters relating to his daughter’s care, including the preparation or content of the Section 7 report, because the matter has been considered in Court. The law says we cannot investigate what happens in court, and the Courts have said we cannot consider related matters. This restriction applies to the content and preparation of reports the Council provided to the Court and any evidence its officers gave.
7. The Ombudsman will not normally ask a council to amend the information held on its files. This is because it forms part of the complete record of the case. Mr B may ask the Council to include a record of his dissenting views or, if he believes the information is inaccurate, he may pursue his legal right of rectification.
8. Regarding the Council’s engagement with Mr B where it is unrelated to the court process, I note that he has completed the Council’s complaints procedure. Mr B is not satisfied with the Council’s findings but that does not mean they are unreasonable. It is unlikely that investigation by the Ombudsman would lead to a different outcome. Even if our intervention was warranted, we could not achieve what Mr B wants. It is for the Council to allocate cases to its officers, and we will not recommend it replace an individual social worker.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we cannot achieve anything significant by doing so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman