The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the report the Council submitted to the court as the law prevents us considering court action.
The complaint
Mr X complains a court report produced by the Council contained inaccuracies and did not take into account all information available. He says the Council have refused to change the errors.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X’s complaint concerns the actions of the Council in preparing a report at the request of the court. Mr X’s complaint is directly related to the matters heard in court. We cannot investigate the Council’s actions regarding the report because those actions are part of the court proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is not separable from the court action, which the law prevents us considering.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman