Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the conduct of a council social worker. This is mostly because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s complaint handling, and investigation by us is unlikely to lead to a worthwhile outcome for Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the conduct of a council social worker involved in her child’s case. She says the social worker belittled her, failed to consider her child’s special educational needs, and visited her child at school without her consent. She says the matter has caused distress to her and her family.
2. Miss X wants the Council to apologise, improve training for staff working with children and families with special educational needs, and assign her a different social worker.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The evidence I have seen shows the Council considered Miss X’s concerns through its complaints process. It discussed the issues with the social worker and provided feedback to them and the wider support staff to improve practice. The Council said the social worker believed Miss X had given consent for the school visit, but it recognised her concern that they did not clearly explain consent. It apologised for any distress and upset the social worker’s actions caused her.
7. I am satisfied the Council took appropriate and proportionate action to address Miss X’s complaint and there is not enough evidence of fault in its handling of the issue to justify us investigating. Given the conflicting accounts, further investigation would be unlikely to determine whether Miss X consented to the social worker’s visit to the school and the point has, in any event, been addressed by the Council’s apology and feedback to the social worker.
8. I acknowledge Miss X is unhappy the Council decided not to assign a new social worker to her child’s case but staffing decisions are a matter for the Council and I am satisfied it properly considered Miss X’s request and explained the reasons for its decision. It is therefore unlikely we would find fault by the Council on this point or that we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Miss X by investigating it further.
9. If Miss X remains concerned about the social worker’s conduct or professional suitability, then she can complain to Social Work England (SWE). SWE is the regulator for social workers in England and is the body better placed to consider complaints about the conduct of individual social workers.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s complaint handling and further investigation by us is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. Any ongoing concerns Miss X has about the social worker’s conduct are better placed for SWE to consider.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman