The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a court report. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about the start of court action or what happened in court.
The complaint
Mr X complained that a report that the Council filed with court was inaccurate, and the methodology used to inform the report was flawed.
Mr X said that this has caused distress and made the court proceedings more complicated.
Mr X wants the report to be retracted, and for the social workers involved in writing the report to be dismissed.
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 Mr X I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about the start of court action or what happened in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman