Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the content of a social worker’s report and information shared with a court. This is because the law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate matters which have been or are being considered by a court.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about:
1. the accuracy of the Council’s children’s social services assessment of her and her family in 2017; and
2. that the inaccurate information from the assessment in 2017 has been shared as part of more recent court proceedings.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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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. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the accuracy of a social worker’s report for court made in 2017 or the information supplied to the courts in 2025 as part of more recent proceedings.
8. The matters complained about relate to previous or ongoing court proceedings. The law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate matters considered by a court. This includes the preparation and content of social work reports and any information supplied to the courts in connection with proceedings. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the matters complained about relate to court proceedings and the law says we cannot investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman