Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in Mr X’s child’s case. The complaint is about matters that have been considered in court, which the law prevents us from considering. It is reasonable for Mr X to raise all elements of his complaint as part of the ongoing proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s involvement in his children’s case. He said the social worker lied in court, blackmailed his child and sought for them to be removed from his care, after only having visited them twice. Mr X said the matter caused him considerable distress. He wanted his child to be returned to his care.

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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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The law says we cannot investigate a council’s decision to begin court action. We cannot consider Mr X’s complaint about the social worker seeking court involvement to remove his child from his care.
8. The law says we cannot investigate what happened in court, which includes the Council’s representations as part of that process. We have no power to investigate what the Council told the court, nor its actions as part of that process.
9. Only the courts, not the Council or the Ombudsman, have the power to decide where Mr X’s child should live. It is reasonable for Mr X to raise all elements of his complaint as part of the ongoing proceedings. We will not investigate peripheral matters about the social worker’s actions, as they are not separable to the matters that are being considered in court.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about matters that have been considered in court, and Mr X should raise his concerns as part of that ongoing process.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman