Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaints about the Council’s children’s social care involvement regarding her children. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. In addition, Miss X could take some of her complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office and Social Work England.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about:
• the accuracy and content of social work reports;
• the Council’s response to her concerns regarding her children; and
• about the conduct of social workers.
2. Miss X says the matters caused her distress.

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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 another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection or data accuracy. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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 the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X has two children, Y and Z. The Council placed Y and Z on child protection plans under the category of emotional harm.
9. Miss X complained about the conduct of social workers. Miss X said social workers: lied, fabricated information, withheld information in a report, failed to investigate concerns about other family members properly, and are involved in her family life without good cause.
10. Miss X wrote again to the Council in February and March 2024. Miss X reiterated her original concerns and raised an additional complaint about another social worker and said they had used rude hand gestures towards her.
11. In the Council’s response to Miss X, It told her it had found no evidence social workers fabricated information, that it had changed the allocated social worker to try and improve the working relationship, and that the children were placed under a child protection plan following a unanimous decision by professionals at a child protection conference. It explained it found no evidence of social work misconduct and explained while Miss X may disagree with the decisions made this did not change the outcome.
12. Miss X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response and asked for a stage two review.
13. The Council responded two weeks later. It told Miss X it acknowledged social work involvement can be distressing, but that it had made its decisions based on professional opinions and reports, including information from external agencies. It encouraged Miss X to engage in the child protection process. The Council concluded there was no evidence to substantiate inappropriate behaviour by social workers, nor any evidence of tampering to the children’s case records.

Analysis

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaints about the Council’s involvement with her children or the Council’s decision to place the children on a child protection plan. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. The Council considered Miss X’s concerns as part of its involvement. However, it decided following a multi-agency conference that Y and Z were at risk of emotional harm. The Council has followed the correct process, so we will not investigate.
15. Miss X raised concerns about the conduct of social workers. The Ombudsman cannot determine whether social workers are meeting their professional standards. If Miss X has concerns about the conduct of social workers, she could take the matter to Social Work England.
16. Where someone has a complaint about data protection or data accuracy, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. Miss X’s concerns that the Council holds inaccurate information or is withholding information from her would be better considered by the ICO, and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to use that service.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate most of Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault. We will not investigate other parts of the complaint because there are other bodies better placed to consider the complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman