The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to family court proceedings. We cannot investigate what happened in court, which includes the content of reports written for court.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council misrepresented information it obtained about him in reports written for court proceedings. This affected Mr X’s contact with his child.
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) We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X started family court proceedings to get access to his child.
The Council obtained information from Mr X to complete a pre-birth assessment on another child that Mr X wanted access to. Mr X has also started family court proceedings in relation to this child.
Mr X made a subject access request and the Council sent the information it had written about Mr X to him. Mr X complained the information was wrong saying Council officers had misrepresented the information and this would affect the court’s decision.
The law says we cannot investigate matters which form part of court proceedings. The content of the Council’s reports written for court are not within our jurisdiction, and Mr X should raise his concerns about the information as part of the proceedings.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to family court proceedings. We cannot investigate what happened in court, which includes the content of reports written for court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman