Dorset Council (23 013 422)
Category : Children's care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Jan 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the actions of a social worker. The matters complained of are unlikely to be separable from the matters concerning the contact and residence arrangements for his child. This is matter where Mr X has a right to go to court it would be reasonable to use to seek the restoration of contact he desires.
The complaint
- Mr X said a social worker had been unsympathetic, had favoured his ex-partner and ignored the safeguarding concerns he had expressed about her care of their child. He said he had not seen his daughter in over three months despite a court order being in force. He wanted contact restored and for the social worker to be replaced.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has not complained to us of any specific safeguarding matter, though he has spoken of the child’s school attendance and the restoration of his contact with her, and what he says is poor advice by the social worker that the child can make her own decisions.
- Given what Mr X has said, it is more likely than not on the balance of probabilities that the matters complained of are inextricably linked with the issue of who is best placed to care for the child and with whom she should have contact. Disputed contact and residence arrangements, as well as court orders and breaches thereof, are matters for a court, not the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters he complains of are not separable from decisions about the residence and contact arrangements of Mr X’s child. These are matters for a court. Therefore, it would be reasonable for Mr X to return to court to seek the arrangements he considers necessary.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman