Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about a children services’ assessment as it has been used in Court proceedings. We will not investigate her complaint about the Council’s failure to complete a financial assessment as it is unlikely it has caused her to lose out. And Social Work England is better placed to consider a social worker’s conduct.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about children services’ actions. She says a social worker completed an inadequate assessment and the Council failed to pay for her accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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).
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:
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; 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 and the Council’s reply to her.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council’s children services team assessed Miss X and her family following a police referral in June 2024. Miss X says this referral is inaccurate and did not properly consider the child involved. She disagrees with it. She complains about the actions and behaviour of the social worker who compiled the assessment.
7. Miss X says she had to leave her family home. She says she had no access to income and is not entitled to claim benefits. She says the Council should have assessed her finances to pay for her temporary accommodation.

Analysis

8. Miss X says Court care arrangement proceedings started in August 2024 and are ongoing. She says the Court ordered the Council’s assessment to be part of those proceedings. We cannot investigate the preparation and content of a report used in court proceedings.
9. The Council has accepted it should have assessed Miss X’s financial position. It says it did not do so as it says it was told she had around £20000 in savings. Miss X accepts she had savings. She believes the Council should have paid her and her child’s accommodation costs rather than she use her savings. Councils have to take into account a parent’s means before agreeing to financial assistance under the Children Act 1989. It is unlikely our investigation would find Miss X has missed out on financial payments because of a lack of financial assessment.
10. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to hold a single officer accountable. If Miss X has concerns about the professionalism or integrity of an individual social worker, it is reasonable to expect her to report her concerns to their professional body, Social Work England. They are better placed to consider professionalism complaints.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot investigate assessments which have been used in Court proceedings. We are unlikely to find any failure to carry out a financial assessment has caused Miss X to lose out. And Social Work England is better placed to consider her complaint about a social worker’s professionalism.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman