Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about children’s services. The law prevents us from investigating anything that is or has been the subject of court proceedings. Part of the complaint is also late and we could not add to the Council’s response about the remaining elements complained about.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the conduct of children’s services and about the allocated social worker. Miss X says the poor communication and unprofessional behaviour has worsened her mental health. She wants the Council to allocate a different social worker and improve its services.

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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 cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome

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

6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and s34H(1), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. In April 2024 Miss X complained to the Council about the social worker who was allocated to her family. She said the social worker’s communication was poor and did not properly explain safeguarding concerns or why she looked through Miss X’s bins. Miss X wanted the Council to allocate a new social worker.
10. Miss X contacted the Ombudsman in October 2025. If Miss X was unhappy with the social worker’s conduct and how the Council responded to her concerns, Miss X could have brought the matter to us much sooner. It was reasonable for her to do so and so we will not investigate this part of the complaint.
11. Even if we exercised discretion to consider the late complaint, we would still not investigate because I am satisfied with the actions the Council took to address the matter and I cannot add to its response.
12. The Council apologised for the poor communication and said it would advise its staff to communicate clearly and in writing in the future. The Council explained to Miss X it would not allocate a new social worker to ensure continuity and stability for the children.
13. The Council said although Miss X did not meet the criteria for talking therapy, it offered her support through other services. It accepted it could have been clearer about the options available to Miss X and said it would provide a written summary of the support available to her.
14. I consider it unlikely further investigation by the Ombudsman would lead to a different outcome for Miss X.
15. Miss X wants the Ombudsman to support her with her family Court case. This is not the Ombudsman’s remit because we are not a support service. We also cannot investigate matters that are subject to Court proceedings. It is open to Miss X to present her evidence to the Court.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating anything that is or has been the subject of court proceedings. Part of the complaint is also late and we could not add to the Council’s response in relation to the remaining issues complained about.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman