The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about what the Council wrote about Mrs X in a report for a court concerning a friend. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The report complained about is not separable from court proceedings.
The complaint
Mrs X said the Council wrote negative comments about her in a report about a friend.
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.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the report about which she complained is not separable from the court proceedings for which it was written.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman