Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that the Council’s social worker has been at fault in her involvement with her children. This is because it concerns matters which can be raised in court, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs B wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that the Council’s social worker has been at fault in her involvement with her children.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
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 investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mrs B has said in support of her complaint.

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What I found

6. Mrs B referred herself to Children’s Services for help with her son’s attachment disorder. She complains about how the social worker has approached the issue of contact with her children’s father.
7. Mrs B complains that the Council’s social worker has changed her position on contact with her children’s father. She says the social worker initially took the view that contact would not be in the children’s interests. But she has now decided to promote contact, which Mrs B believes will be detrimental to the children’s wellbeing.
8. Mrs B says the social worker has provided inaccurate information to the court to support contact. She alleges that the social worker did so because she made a complaint. Mrs B wants the social worker removed from her case and wants no further involvement with social services.
9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint. The issue of contact will be decided by the court and it would be appropriate for Mrs B to voice her objections in court. By law, the Ombudsman cannot investigate information submitted to the court.
10. It is also the case that investigation would not achieve the outcome Mrs B is seeking. It is for the Council to decide how to use its resources and the Ombudsman cannot intervene.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which may be raised in court, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs B wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman