Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to the complainant’s concerns about her daughter’s welfare. This is because the complaint concerns matters which may be raised in a court of law.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains that the Council’s social worker has been at fault in failing to act on concerns about her daughter’s welfare and in writing biased and inaccurate reports for the Court.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. 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 information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms B’s daughter is currently the subject of court action. Ms B says the social worker tasked with writing a Section 37 report for the Court’s consideration has previous previously completed inaccurate reports concerning her daughter. She believes the Council and the social worker have ignored her concerns about her daughter’s welfare. She wants the Council’s actions to be investigated and for the Section 37 report to be written fairly.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint. The care of her daughter is currently the subject of court action. If Ms B has concerns about her daughter’s welfare with the current care or contact arrangements, it would be reasonable for her to place them before the Court. We will not intervene.
8. Section 37 reports are the property of the Court and, by law, the Ombudsman cannot consider their content or how they are written. We cannot therefore investigate Ms B’s concerns about the report.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because it concerns matters which may be raised in a court of law.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman