Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the professional conduct of a social worker and the Council’s delay in responding to his complaints about the social worker. There is another agency which can investigate his concerns about the social worker, and the Council has already responded to his complaints.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has not responded to his complaints about a social worker since 2025. Mr X says the Council has not acknowledged most of his complaints.
2. Mr X also complains about the conduct of the social worker. He said the social worker has shown deceit and dishonesty.
3. Mr X would like the Council to investigate his complaints, remove the social worker and update all the assessments and reports prepared by the social worker.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. The Ombudsman cannot investigate whether social workers are meeting their professional standards of conduct. Complaints of this nature should be referred to the social workers’ professional body, Social Work England.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Our role is to investigate the actions of the Council as a corporate body, not to investigate the actions of a specific employee of the Council.
9. We will therefore not investigate Mr X’s complaints about the conduct of the social worker because his concerns are better suited to their professional body, Social Work England. Social Work England can decide if the Council’s social worker has not met the professional standards of conduct expected on their profession.
10. We do not usually look at the Council’s complaint handling alone if we are not investigating any substantive issues. However, we note the Council has recently reviewed Mr X’s complaints about the social worker and responded in full.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the social worker because there is another agency that can investigate his concerns. We also note the Council has recently responded to his complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman