Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged lack of support to Mr X and the failure to safeguard his children. The law says we cannot investigate complaints about court action or what happened in court. It is reasonable for Mr X to raise all concerns as part of the proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the social worker’s actions and service, especially how his concerns about his children were handled. He says the Council failed to protect his wellbeing and discriminated against him, including in their reports. He says he is not challenging any court outcome. Mr X also complains about inaccurate record‑keeping in response to his General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) request.

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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 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
5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. As part of private law proceedings involving children, the court may ask the Council to produce a section 7 or 37 report. The court will then consider the report as part of its decision making. Because section 7 and 37 reports form part of court proceedings, we have no jurisdiction to investigate their preparation or content.
9. It is reasonable for Mr X to raise his concerns about the social worker’s actions and reports directly with the court, because these issues relate to the court’s consideration of the Council’s evidence. For this reason, we will not investigate the complaint.
10. Mr X’s complaint about the accuracy of his data is best handled by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law says we cannot look at complaints about court action or what happened in court, or issues that are too closely linked to court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman