Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the alleged bias of the Council in its dealings with Mr X. The opinions formed by a social worker have already been provided to a court. A legal bar thus prevents us considering the views expressed and the way in which they were formed.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council was biased in its treatment of him, minimising his ex-partner’s behaviour and leaving his concerns unanswered or ignored. He said a social worker was biased in what she wrote, inconsistent in communicating with him, and oppressive in her practice. He said he was worried this would continue as she came to write a report that would be used in any court case concerning the care of his children.

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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 cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. I note in passing that the Council’s own investigation found some fault in the way it had dealt with Mr X. However, the documents Mr X supplied show there was a court hearing in late 2024 at which the views of a social worker about him were presented in writing when he sought to take his children overseas for a holiday. That triggers an absolute and permanent legal bar that prevents us investigating these matters. I appreciate Mr X is concerned that what was written may again be presented to a court in the future. That is speculative, but it is because those views have already been presented to a court, that we cannot investigate how they were arrived at, even if that might in other circumstances be potentially a matter of fault.

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Final deecision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because a legal bar prevents us investigating matters that happened in court, or which were or could reasonably have been raised in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman