Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s involvement with her family. The law prevents us from investigating anything that is the subject of court proceedings. We also cannot achieve the outcomes Mrs X wants.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s involvement with her family. She says the Council has ignored her requests for a new Social Worker. She also alleges the allocated Social Worker has lied in court proceedings and fabricated dates of visits to her children. Mrs X wants the Council to allocate a new Social Worker and to take her family’s concerns and views seriously.

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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 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 cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (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. The Council has explained why it does not believe it would be in the best interests of Mrs X’s children to allocate their case to another Social Worker. This is a decision the Council is entitled to make. The Council has also explained that some of Mrs X’s complaints, such as the Social Worker lying in court proceedings, are matters for the court to consider.
7. There is nothing more we could add to the responses Mrs X has already received from the Council. The law prevents us from becoming involved in matters that are or have been the subject of court proceedings. It would be for Mrs X to raise any concerns she has about information the Council has provided to the court in that forum.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating anything relating to court proceedings. We also cannot achieve the outcomes the complainant wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman