The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a fraud investigation because legal proceedings have started. And there is insufficient evidence of fault regarding the complaint handling.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the way the Council carried out a fraud investigation. He complains about the conduct of the interviewing officers, says there was a breach of PACE and he disputes the transcript of the interview under caution (IUC). He also complains about the way the Council responded to his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and information that court proceedings have started. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The Council invited Mr X to an IUC. The purpose was to explore whether Mr X had submitted fraudulent documents.
The Council has started court proceedings. There has been a court hearing and Mr X has elected to have the case heard in the crown court.
Mr X has made many complaints. This includes complaints about the wording of the letter that invited him to the IUC, the conduct of the interviewing officers, a breach of PACE and that the transcript of the interview is inaccurate. He also says a complaint reply was late and undated.
The Council says the IUC and notes are included in the bundle of evidence that form part of the court proceedings.
The law says we cannot investigate an issue once it is subject to court proceedings. Mr X complains about the IUC but this has been presented to court as part of the criminal proceedings. This means I have no power to start an investigation. If Mr X thinks there were deficiencies in the way the IUC was conducted then that is a matter he can raise as part of his defence.
Mr X also complains about the complaint handling. However, the Council apologised for the delayed response and provided an explanation. This is not a level of fault which requires an investigation, especially when we cannot investigate the more substantive issues.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint because the matters are subject to court proceedings and because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman