Telford & Wrekin Council (26 010 484)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the actions of a children’s services social worker. The law prevents us from investigating matters which are subject to court proceedings. In any case, Miss X’s concerns would be better placed with Social Work England.
The complaint
- Miss X complained about the professional conduct of a children’s services social worker (SW). Miss X said the SW’s conduct led to them being biased during court proceedings.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained about the professional of her children’s SW. Miss X said the conduct she complained about led to the SW showing bias in court proceedings.
- As outlined in paragraph three, we cannot investigate complaints about court action. Miss X should raise any concerns about bias to the court, either herself or via her legal representatives.
- In any case, Miss X’s concerns about the SW’s professional conduct would be better placed with Social Work England (SWE). SWE is the professional regulator for SW’s and have powers to investigate their professional conduct.
- For these reasons, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters subject to court proceedings and her concerns are better placed with Social Work England.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman