Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about childrens services because we cannot investigate what happened in court and the issues are intrinsically linked to legal proceedings.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council has acted in a biased way, resulting in him losing access to his child and made incorrect allegations and assumptions within a section 7 court report. He also complained the social worker involved bullied him and acted unprofessionally.
2. Mr Y says this has caused significant upset and he has been unable to see his child since December 2024. He is seeking disciplinary action against the social worker, an updated section 7 report and a written apology.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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))
5. When we find fault, we can recommend remedies for significant personal injustice, or to prevent future injustice, caused by that fault. We look at organisational fault, not individual professional competence. Decisions about individual’s fitness to practise or work are for the organisations concerned, and for professional regulators, not the Ombudsman. (Local Government Act 1974, s26(1) and s26A(1) as amended)
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. The law prevents us from becoming involved in matters that are or have been the subject of court proceedings. The contact between Mr Y and his child and their other parent and how this has been considered as well as any reports written for the court will have been presented to the court.
9. The issues raised are intrinsically linked to the proceedings which are or have already been considered by the courts so we will not investigate. Any contact arrangements and reports for the court have been part of legal proceedings so we do not have the power to investigate these matters. We will not investigate.
10. If Mr Y wishes to seek changes to the existing arrangements relating to his children’s residence or contact arrangements, he would need to approach the court to raise these issues. We have no power to intervene or make decisions in place of the court. Only the court can decide what is in a child’s best interest and on any matters of dispute. We would consider it reasonable to expect Mr Y to go to court about such matters.
11. Mr Y has also complained about the social worker acting unprofessionally, showing bias and bullying him. Our role is to look into the Council’s actions as a corporate body, rather than to investigate any individual. If Mr Y has concerns about the conduct of a social worker, he can report his concerns to their professional body, Social Work England. We will not investigate.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we cannot investigate what happened in court and the issues are intrinsically linked to legal proceedings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman