Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the content of a Section 37 report and the social worker who wrote it. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters which have been discussed in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about the content of a Section 37 report produced for a court. Miss X is also unhappy about the conduct of the social worker who produced the report.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Miss X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Miss X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

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What I found

6. Under Section 37 of the Children Act 1989, a court may ask a Council to provide a report about the welfare of a child, and to consider whether it should be taking further steps to protect the child.
7. Miss X is unhappy about a Section 37 report produced by the Council. Miss X says the report is inaccurate and the social worker was biased.
8. Section 37 reports are produced at the request of a court and are for use in court proceedings. The report was discussed in court. Any concerns about the report could have been raised in court. As explained in paragraph 3, we cannot investigate matters which have been subject to legal proceedings. We cannot therefore investigate Miss X’s complaint about the report.
9. We could also not separate out the social worker’s actions from content of the report. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or conduct of individual social workers, she can contact Social Work England, as the relevant professional body.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters which have been discussed in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman