Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has refused to consider the complainants concerns about the actions of social workers. This is because investigation by the Ombudsman would achieve no worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council has declined to consider his complaints about the actions of social workers.

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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 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
4. 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

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. Mr X’s children live with their mother. They have previously been the subject of child protection action. In 2023, their care and contact arrangements were decided in private legal proceedings.
8. Mr X says he has attempted to make six complaints about the actions of social workers throughout their involvement with his family. He complains that the Council has only accepted two of the complaints and has declined to consider the rest.
9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The evidence shows that the two complaints the Council has investigated were properly considered and the findings are defensible. Investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.
10. Other matters relate to the safeguarding of the children, and the production of a Section 7 report for the Court. By law, we cannot investigate the content of any report completed for a court, or any other evidence a court has considered. This restriction also applies to the actions of social workers in producing the report. The matter falls outside our jurisdiction. Mr X could have raised his concerns about the safeguarding of the children with the Court. That being the case, we will not consider the matter.
11. Mr X says the latest complaint he has tried to make regards the actions of a social worker when his son was born. As I understand it, this took place some years ago and we would not consider it unreasonable for the Council to decline to consider a complaint so long after the event.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because investigation would not achieve a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman