Staffordshire County Council (24 003 757)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Jul 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about alleged abuse of Mr X’s child and victimisation of him by social workers. The matters complained of are not separable from matters that have been or could reasonably be raised in court.
The complaint
- Mr X said social workers abused his child and victimised him.
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 if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
- We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The alleged bias of social workers in their treatment of Mr X, and in the reports they wrote about the child and family, relate directly to a decision about the care of a child that only a court can resolve. Mr X has provided a copy of a statement he wrote recently for a court. His complaint to us also contains references to reports that are written for a court, and to there also having been a previous court order. There is a wide-ranging and permanent bar that prevents us investigating matters closely connected to court action, from the point of first contact of either party with the court. Therefore, it is not likely that we could investigate any part of the complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters he complains of are not separable from matters that have formed or could reasonably form part of court action.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman