Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s children’s services’ involvement in Ms X’s child’s case. The matters Ms X complains about have been considered in court. The peripheral complaints are not separable from the proceedings themselves.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not properly respond to her complaint about the conduct and professional judgment of her child’s social worker. She says it:
• declined to investigate due to ongoing court proceedings;
• did not provide a response after the proceedings finished;
• did not tell her whether it had considered her concerns; and
• did not communicate properly.
2. Ms X said the matter had caused her significant distress and had direct implications for the court proceedings, leading to the child’s living arrangements changing. She said the court dismissed her appeal, so her serious concerns about the Council’s evidence were never addressed. She wanted the Council to properly consider her concerns, appoint a new social worker and apologise.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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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. The law expressly prohibits us from investigating what happens as part of court proceedings. This includes the content of reports written for, or used in, court.
9. Ms X appealed the outcome of proceedings, citing her concerns about the Council’s representations. Even though the court dismissed her appeal, we have no power to investigate the matters she included in that application.
10. Even had Ms X not appealed, we still would not investigate the central complaint about the social worker’s conduct and professional judgment. The actions of social workers when compiling evidence for court reports, where the alleged impact of their actions is what they presented to the court, are ultimately not separable to the proceedings themselves.
11. While it is not the court’s role to decide whether there was fault in the Council’s actions outside the courtroom or before proceedings began, these matters are not separable from the Council’s subsequent representations to court.
12. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. It is not proportionate to investigate Ms X’s peripheral complaints relating to communication and complaint-handling in isolation.

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Final decision

We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because the law prevents us investigating what happens as part of court proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman