The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a court report. This is not separable from the court action for which it was written, and Mr X has a right to return to court it would be reasonable to use.
The complaint
Mr X said the content of a court report was inaccurate, and the Council wrongly refused to change it despite him having evidence to demonstrate its inaccuracy
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) 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
The complaint concerns the content of a report ordered by a court. It is thus part of the court process.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matter he complains of is not separable from the court process. He also has a right to return to court it would be reasonable to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman