Sheffield City Council (20 009 225)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the content of a court report. This matter is not separable from the court’s decision about her grandchildren’s contact and residence and it would be reasonable for her to use her right to return to court.
The complaint
- Mrs X said a social worker in wrote a biased report for a court that determined the contact and residence of her grandchildren. She said the loss of contact has been distressing.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read Mrs X’s complaint. I gave her an opportunity to comment on a draft decision.
What I found
- Mrs X’s complaint concerns the disputed content of a report a social worker wrote for a court that decided where her grandchildren should live and what contact with them family members should have. I do not doubt she finds the court decision distressing. But only a court can achieve the outcome she wants, and the matters complained of are not separable from the court’s decision. It would be reasonable for her to return to court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because only a court can achieve the outcome Mrs X wants, and it would be reasonable for her to use her right to return to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman