Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s preparation of a section 7 report. The law prevents us from investigating such matters and there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s refusal of his complaint. Mr X’s other concerns about his confidentiality and subject access request are better addressed with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling and preparation of a section 7 report. He says the social worker who prepared the report was biased, unprofessional and misrepresented evidence. He also complains the social worker breached his confidentiality and he is unhappy with the Council’s handling of his subject access request (SAR).
2. Mr X is concerned the Council’s actions have affected the fairness of the proceedings. He wants the Council to investigate the social worker, tell him what was written about him in the report, and amend or replace the report.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by Mr X.
7. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and our Guide for Children’s statutory complaints procedure.

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My assessment

8. The law prevents us from investigating matters about the preparation and contents of a section 7 report. This means we cannot consider the social worker’s actions in preparing the report, including any allegations of bias, unprofessional behaviour or any alleged inaccuracies contained in the report. We also cannot say whether the report could impact the outcome of the court proceedings. It is open for Mr X to raise such concerns during the court proceedings.

Council complaint response

9. The Council refused to consider Mr X’s complaint as court proceedings were ongoing.
10. Councils can refuse complaints about section 7 reports. They can also refuse complaints if it could prejudice a concurrent investigation, including court proceedings.
11. Therefore, I consider it was open to the Council to refuse Mr X’s complaint as related court proceedings were ongoing. There is not enough evidence of fault on this point to justify us investigating.

Confidentiality breaches and SAR

12. Mr X’s concerns about any confidentiality breaches, or the Council’s handling of his SAR, are better addressed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO). The ICO considers complaints about the handling of personal data and SARs.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating section 7 reports and there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s refusal to consider the complaint. The ICO is better placed to consider Mr X’s concerns about confidentiality and his SAR.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman