The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate X’s complaint about the Council’s actions related to their child’s school attendance. The Council has started court action about the matter. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or matters that can be raised as part of court proceedings.
The complaint
X complains about the Council’s actions in relation to their child’s school attendance.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Since bringing the complaint to us, X has told us the Council has started legal proceedings against them for their child’s non-attendance at school.
We cannot investigate this complaint. We cannot investigate the Council’s decision to start court action. If X is dissatisfied with the Council’s actions leading up to the decision, they can raise it with the court as part of the proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate X’s complaint because we cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or matters that could be considered as part of legal proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman