Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint whilst the case is subject to ongoing court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about the social worker allocated to his childrens' case. Mr X says the social worker has failed in her duty of care by not providing key information and documents he has requested and has failed to investigate significant concerns he has raised.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the actions of the social worker allocated to his childrens’ case in its child protection involvement with his family.
7. The Council told Mr X it would not consider his complaint at this time due to the ongoing family court proceedings. It advised Mr X he can resubmit his complaint to the Council once the proceedings have concluded to see if there are any matters it can consider which were not considered in the proceedings.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings. This is to ensure the proceedings, which must take precedence over any complaint investigation, are not prejudiced by a concurrent investigation. It is a decision the Council is entitled to make and its approach is in line with the statutory guidance to local authorities on the handling of children’s services complaints, as referred to in the Council’s response to Mr X.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider his complaint whilst there are ongoing court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman