Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about information a social worker provided to the court in family court proceedings because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from considering matters that have been considered in court. We have no discretion to do so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains the Council will not consider her complaint that a social worker lied in court proceedings relating to her child.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant. This included her complaint correspondence with the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complains the Council will not accept her complaint that a social worker lied in recent family court proceedings relating to her child. Mrs X says the social worker lied to the court and the case was withdrawn.
7. The Council has told Mrs X it cannot consider her complaint via its complaints procedure because it is about matters that have been raised in court.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate this complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from considering complaints about matters that have been considered in court. This restriction applies to complaints about information provided to the court such as this. We have no discretion to consider it and cannot do so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman