Summary: We will not investigate Miss X complaint about children services’ issues. We cannot investigate matters which have been involved in Court proceedings and Social Work England is better placed to consider social worker conduct issues.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council has failed to reply to her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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).
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 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council’s child protection team were involved with Miss X’s family. In May 2023 the Courts made an order about her children’s care. The Council had provided reports and information to the Courts and to CAFCASS who provided reports to the Court.
8. Miss X complained following the Court hearing about the social worker’s conduct and other matters. She says that if the Council’s social worker had acted differently, including things they said, the outcome would have been different. The Council replied at stage one and stage two of its corporate complaints’ procedure. It then had a face to face meeting with Miss X about her complaints. She followed this up with an email in May 2024 explaining why she remained unhappy. This included that:
• She is not happy with the social worker’s conduct.
• She disagreed with a Council audit.
9. We cannot investigate any evidence, reports or comments a council officer made directly to a court or indirectly through CAFCASS.
10. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to tell the Court of any issues she had with the evidence or information the Council provided to the Court.
11. It would be difficult to investigate the social worker’s actions or manner separately from the Court’s decisions. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect her to report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England.
12. We would be unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision not to reply to Miss X’s email of May 2024. Her email was essentially the same complaint the Council had replied to in its stage one and stage two.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot look at matters involved in court proceedings and Social Work England are better placed to consider her social worker conduct complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman