Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the actions of social workers. The matters complained of are not separable from matters subject to court action.

The complaint

1. Miss X said social workers mishandled her case and delayed carrying out a psychological assessment of her. She said they ignored that she could not process the concerns in the way they were trying to communicate with her. She said her solicitor raised many concerns about the way social workers treated her. She said they forced her abusive ex-partner to seek a court order and supported him in moving away with their child without checking on him and his new partner first.

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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. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. While Miss X feels her complaint is separable from court action, her complaint to us and the complaint correspondence do not support this. They show the matters complained of concern the opinions and actions of social workers concerning who her child may live with and have contact with. Decisions about contact and residence are matters for a court. Court action commences well before any hearing when either party first approaches the court. We have no jurisdiction to investigate from that point onwards, and we cannot investigate after the court action ends.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from the residency and contact arrangements for a child, which are subject to the decision of a court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman