The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s parenting assessment. The law prevents us from considering matters that have been considered in court.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s parenting assessment. He said the Council included inaccurate and defamatory allegations about him. He said this negatively affected his child’s case and court proceedings, and resulted in his child being placed in foster care. He said this caused distress to him and the child. He wanted the Council to rewrite its assessment and reissue it to all relevant agencies, including the courts.
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) We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been before the courts. We cannot consider the content of the Council’s representations to court, and we cannot influence the court’s decisions. Mr X had the opportunity to raise his concerns in court. Only the court, not the Council nor the Ombudsman, can decide on the child’s residence and contact.
In any event, Mr X has presented his complaint to the Council as a right to rectification request under data protection legislation. The Information Commissioner’s Office is the body that considers how organisations handle people’s data, and is best placed to consider the Council’s response to that request, when it has been issued.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about matters that have been before the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman