Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about children services actions. We cannot investigate issues involved in Court proceedings and Social Work England is better placed to consider a complaint about professionalism.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X says a Council children service’s social worker has acted inappropriately, and the Council’s actions mean she is not able to see her child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X says that a Council children’s social worker has not acted properly. She says the officer has been biased and has failed to take action. She believes her child is under their paternal family’s coercive control. She says the officer failed to arrange mediation. She says the officer produced a biased and unfair report. She believes this officer should not be allowed to work as a children’s social worker. She says the officer has expressed views on social media which are not suitable for someone in their role.
7. Miss X has applied to Court to try and establish her relationship with her child. As part of those proceedings, the Court ordered the Council provide it with a report. This is a section seven report.

Analysis

8. We cannot investigate the same issues which the court is considering nor issues which are closely linked to it. This means we cannot investigate how the Council has handled the contact issues between Miss X and her child. We also cannot investigate the preparation, collation, and analysis of evidence. This includes reports written by social workers or other officers for court proceedings and the use of a report written previously, in later court proceedings.
9. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect her to report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot investigate the same issues a Court is considering, nor the evidence presented to a Court. Social Work England is better placed to consider her complaint about a social worker’s professionalism.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman