The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a report that the Council presented to a court. The law prevents us from investigating what happens during court proceedings.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the contents of a report that the Council presented to a court and about how the Council dealt with his complaint about this matter.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the report the Council presented to the courts. A court report forms part of court proceedings. We have no power to investigate any matters related to its contents or preparation.
It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about what happened in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman